Lilly Avalon Monthly Writing Update #1 for May 2020

Every month I share an update about what I'm writing in my Monthly Writing Update!

Here's the latest for the month of May.

At the end of April, I finished writing the third book in my upcoming Risqué Series. This completed the set of three I had planned out. Starting at the beginning of May, the plan was to revise all three books.

Have I accomplished this?

Not quite... Desiring the Dancer, the first book in the series, has been revised. Right now I am currently revising Enticing the Escort, book two of the series. That leaves the third book, Seducing the Star, still at the first draft stage. As of right now, I am about halfway through the second book, which means I'm halfway through revisions on all three.

You'd think I would be disappointed that I couldn't reach my goal of revising all three in May, but I'm actually quite pleased with my progress. I haven't revised anything longer than a short story (under 5k) in a long time. To be completely honest, I was dreading revisions at the beginning of the month. Getting started on them took me a few days. Once I really dove into it and began not only taking away huge chunks of nonsense but also adding in more words. I would take away 100, then add 300, making it a gain of about 200 words for a chapter.

The more I tightened up the story, the more I wanted to revise.

This didn't necessarily mean I went out of my way to revise. I still had my moments of frustration, especially with certain scenes that needed more work than others. I spent a lot of time working on the last two chapters of the first book because there were several sections that needed completely rewritten. Those parts usually ended up with me staring at the screen with several new paragraphs started, all reworded over and over until I got it right.

Once I finished Desiring the Dancer, I felt a huge sense of relief. I was one-third of the way finished! Plus, finishing the one made me want to start the second right away... but I didn't.

To clarify, it made me want to, not that I actually put forth the effort to dive in. Once I did, the good feelings from the first one returned and gave me the motivation to keep going. I'm hoping that once I finish revising Enticing the Escort  that I won't delay too long before starting revisions on Seducing the Star.

Am I on track?

Surprisingly, yes. If I can stay on schedule with these revisions (I set new achievable deadlines), I will still be able to publish within the timeframe of my estimated release dates. What are those dates? Hmm, can't say just yet. I need to make sure the rest of the revisions go off without a hitch. If I miss the deadline or something comes up, I may have to push those release dates back by a week or two. As of right now, though, I am doing very well. Wish me luck that it continues down that path!

Goals for June

Finish revisions of Enticing the Escort  and Seducing the Star  of course! Once these initial revisions are complete, I'm going to read through all three books once more and then send off to my editor. While I wait for her edits, I'll be outlining the book I want to publish before the end of the year. I don't have much to say about this project just yet, but I will say that it is requiring me to do some research and I'm really enjoying that research. If I get edits back before the end of the month, I'll be working on implementing them right away.

In the meantime, take care, everyone! Stay safe! Love you!

The Latest From Lilly Avalon - May 2020

Hello lovelies!

Ever since my last post on Camp NaNo, I've been itching to tell y'all more details about what I've been working on. There are reasons why I haven't gone into many specifics regarding these stories, and I'll explain that here as well.

Here's the rundown!

When I initially began publishing, I had the tendency to speak too soon about the writing projects I wanted to pursue next. I actually looked back on old blog posts to read about them and had to facepalm a few times. There were so many instances  where I would make statements about what's next and when to expect it... and I never did. It's something I still feel bad about to this day. I learned my lesson, though, and since then I refrain from getting too specific about my plans or talk in too much detail about my project unless there's either been progress and it will be finished soon or  the first draft has been fully written.

Which brings us to today...

As of April 29th, I have completed the first drafts of three novellas. Since I've reached this point, it's time for me to talk about my projects in more detail. What are these three novellas? Well, I'll tell you!

These three novellas are part of a series of stories about naughty men. Each novella follows a woman interested in a man who is in an unconventional job. What kind of unconventional job?

Book one is about a male stripper.

Book two is about a male escort.

Book three is about a male porn star.

Intrigued yet? I hope so. I liked the idea of choosing taboo professions for the men. It makes the story more fun, especially tackling the stereotypes and showing that they're just the same as a man in a conventional job.

What about the titles?

Let me tell you... I had three titles picked out a long time ago. They brought me great amusement because they were part of my plan to use the word "cocky" in a book title (or three) after the whole Cockygate scandal. When I told my husband what the titles were, he didn't particularly care for them but told me I could title the books however I wanted to. I thought about what he said, and asked myself if all of the love interests were indeed "cocky" men. And they really weren't. So I came up with new titles, ones that honestly suited the stories much, much better. And here they are:

Desiring the Dancer (The Risqué Series #1)
Enticing the Escort (The Risqué Series #2)
Seducing the Star (The Risqué Series #3)

All three of them are now on Goodreads. The blurbs still need to be written. Also, I haven't selected release dates because I'm in the early stages of revisions. They are about three different couples and can be read as standalones, although in order works better so you can see where it all began (and they're set in the same world with people who appear in the other books). I do have tentative dates in mind, though, so cross your fingers that I can knock these revisions out of the park.

That's all I've got for you right now! I should have the blurbs and release dates picked out by the end of the month. Once those are ready, it'll be time for a triple cover reveal!

Stay posted with how everything progresses by joining my reader group on Facebook. I've been trying to keep everyone updated every few days/every week with what's going on.

Until next time, take care of yourself!

Camp NaNoWriMo: April 2020

Hello lovelies!

As I was going through a bunch of my old blog posts, I realized that I don't do enough to keep it updated with what I'm doing. It's true that there hasn't been much to talk about in the last few years... but now that I'm actually making progress, I figure it would be a good time to start. Not only to let y'all know what's what, but also to keep a record of what's what for future me.

April is Camp NaNoWrimo! I set my goal to be 12,000 words instead of the usual 50,000 words that most do in November every year. It's was an estimation of what I needed to complete the novella I'm working on (more on that very soon!), so it felt like a reasonable goal.

As much as I love to write, I tend to lose focus often. Sometimes it's out of my control, sometimes it's because of other responsibilities (I currently work from home with a couple of online business ventures so I have to complete those tasks by the end of the day), and sometimes it's because I get distracted by other things. I've been learning what works for me and what doesn't, so I'm getting better at writing on a regular basis, although I still have my unfocused days.

What's been helping me is writing sprints. I'll either do them with others or by myself. I watched writing sprint live streams on the YouTube channel The Courtney Project and that sort of kickstarted everything. I completed my outline in a couple days after procrastinating on it, then began actually writing. When I can't watch the videos live, I'll either put on a previous stream or I'll set a timer. I began using the Forest App and have discovered that shorter sprints are where it's at for me. I was doing 20-25 minute sprints, but 10-15 might be my sweet spot to knock out more words.

Throughout the month of April, I went back and forth on getting ahead. I was often 1000-2000 words behind daily, but then I'd write more than the minimum (400) and get caught up slightly... then miss a day. *sigh* But as I said on Twitter, even if I only reach 10,000 words, I would still consider that a victory.

Where do I stand on the last day of the month?

I've tracked my progress on what I've written throughout the month below. At the end you'll see my total.

April 3rd = 387

April 7th = 711
April 11th = 1543
April 14th = 860
April 16th = 501
April 17th = 603
April 19th = 428
April 20th = 676
April 22nd = 513
April 23rd = 1097
April 24th = 1171
April 25th = 251
April 27th = 142
April 28th = 1107
April 29th = 728

TOTAL = 10,718


To reach my goal of 12,000, I still need 1282 more words. So, can I sprint my way to 12k today? I mean, I could, but it turns out I overestimated  how many words I needed to finish my novella because as of last night, the first draft is complete!

Will I still write 1282 more words? Probably not. I'm going to celebrate finishing the third of my three novellas in this new series by relaxing today. It's been a long journey, but I've finally reached a mini goal in a long list of goals for 2020. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to start the revising process. There are a number of things that need to be fixed between all three books, so I need to make notes of everything to make sure it all get addressed.

Expect to hear lots more about my progress in the coming weeks... as well as the titles of all three of these novellas!

Start the RESIST series for FREE!

Hello lovelies!

With everything going on in the world right now, I wanted to offer you something special. Since numerous authors were offering free books, I decided I should do the same.

Resist, the first book in the Resist  series, is now available for free! That's right, you can start the series for absolutely free. This isn't a limited time sale either. I'll be leaving it for free likely until the end of the year. I would like as many people to have the opportunity to get a copy as possible. Since things are so chaotic, some may not even find out about the sale until our lives return to some sort of normal again.

Hopefully this free book will help with your boredom and/or cabin fever!

Get RESIST for FREE!

Allegra Maxwell is sick of the monotony of life. It's all work and no play, and right now she wants to play. She shows up to an annual company meeting with one goal in mind: have a one-night stand with a stranger. What she doesn't count on is Devlin Pierce walking through the door. 

When Allegra first met Devlin, she knew he would be nothing but trouble. After he proved her theory to be true last year, she made a vow to never have anything to do with him again. He's the last person she wants to see, and he knows it. He refuses to leave her alone though. As much as she tries to fight it, the pull he has on her is undeniable. Her ability to resist him proves impossible when Devlin makes her an offer she can't refuse. 

One night. That's all he asks and all she wants. Or is it?

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Get the sequel for only $2.99!

It's been two months since Allegra walked out of Devlin's hotel room. Well, two months and five days, but she's not counting. She needs to move on, but before she can, Devlin shows up again...as her new coworker. 

Seeing him at work every day is enough to make her lose her mind. Allegra tries to stay away from Devlin, knowing the effect he has on her, but she can't. The more she's around him, the more she's tempted to have something more with him. After everything that's happened in the past, it's a slippery slope that may land her in a place she never wants to revisit. Something is happening to her heart, though. A longing is building up that isn't one-sided...and doesn't feel temporary. 

He wants her. She wants a forever. Is it possible to have it all?

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As a side note, a long time ago I was thinking about writing a third book in the Resist  series. I tried to write it on multiple occasions, but every time it just wasn't working. I finally had to bid farewell to the idea of it, which was really frustrating. Writing Allegra and Devlin's story was so much fun because I adored everything about them and I wanted their story to continue. Recently I thought about this, and while I still don't feel I could write a continuation of their story, there is something else I could do instead. Both Resist  and Longing  were written entirely from Allegra's POV, meaning we have no idea what was going on in Devlin's mind. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd love to dive into that.

This doesn't mean I'll be rewriting the entire series from his POV. While that may be fun for me to do, I'm not sure how fun it would be to read. However, I would like to pick and choose some scenes that I would like to see from his perspective. I've already started to scan through both books to see which chapters I would like to do for him. This is as far as I've gotten with this, though. Since I'm in the middle of writing the third book in a novella series (more on this soon), I would like to at least have revisions done on all three novellas before I dabble too much in an alternative POV for Devlin and the Resist  series.

So there you have it! A free book, a $2.99 sequel, and the possibility of reading more from Devlin's point of view. I'd say that sounds pretty nice, right?

You all please take care of yourselves. I'm sending you hugs and hoping you're doing okay in these trying times. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, and stay safe. Love y'all!

Happy Anniversary to Can't Stay Away - Leap Year Anniversary Sale!

Hello lovelies,

Today is a special day... it's the official four year anniversary for Can't Stay Away! What makes a four year anniversary special? It's because Can't Stay Away was published on Leap Year Day in 2016, so it hasn't had an actual anniversary yet. February 29th only comes around once every four years. Since it's such a special day, I decided to put the book on sale for only 99 cents!

Piper Winchester is fresh out of college. With only three weeks until her father remarries and five weeks until her first business venture launches, she's got her hands full. She certainly doesn't need any distractions to get in the way of building the future her father's always wanted for her. But when a familiar boy with bright green eyes walks back into her life, she's thrown for a loop.

Four years ago, Chase MacKenzie left for college without looking back. He didn't mean to disturb the peace then, and he definitely doesn't want to do that now. Once he lays his eyes on Piper again, there's no way he can leave without fixing what went wrong in the past. Although she's more determined than ever to push him away, he still manages to get under her skin. Regardless of what happens between them, there's one thing that will always be standing in their way...

He's about to become her stepbrother.

Get Can't Stay Away here:

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Happy reading!