WELL, HELLO THERE!

I’MMMMM BAAACCCCKKKK…

I will be completely honest with you… if you’re still out there…listens for an echo or crickets… 

I COMPLETELY forgot I had this blog…so much so that a couple years ago I started a website over on Wix. I was just getting ready to start all over from scratch over there and reconfigure what I’d created but I couldn’t find my wix address so I Googled myself in hopes of finding it and I found THIS.

Imagine my surprise!

So, if you don’t follow me anywhere but here, I assume you think I fell off the face of the earth. I did not. Life got in the way.

I’ll catch you up quickly.

The IN TOO DEEP series is now called the FALLING FORWARD series and is available on Amazon. The story was edited and is a stronger Gracie and you’ll love it all over again. Each book has new covers and new titles. In Too Deep = Going Under, On Solid Ground = Reclaiming Grace, and Above The Noise = Played.

I didn’t want to change them THAT much but it’s an Amazon thing, if you re-pub with a new publisher, those deets have to change.

WHEN I LIED is still available on Amazon as well.

I have not released anything since the re-writes of Gracie & Jake’s story which wrapped up in 2019.

However, I am working on my 5th novel which is a Young Adult Road Trip Romance. And I’m on the hunt for an agent that reps multiple genres as, of course, I am also always sketching and coming up with picture book ideas.

If you stick around, I will be updating this blog more often…as a fun place to share my journey and encourage others to get their stories out there for people to read.

Hope to hear from all you crickets.

MKB

WHEN I LIED IS LIVE EVERYWHERE!!!!!

TODAY'S THE DAY!

IT'S LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kate & Oliver get to tell their story to the world!

And here are all the links you'll need to get your copy!

http://www.amazon.com/When-Lied-Michelle-Kemper-Brownlow-ebook/dp/B01E056B1M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461064436&sr=1-1

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-whenilied-2023815-149.html

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/when-i-lied/id1102590334?mt=11

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-i-lied-michelle-kemper-brownlow/1123656911?ean=2940152966985

https://www.createspace.com/6202427

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/when-i-lied

FYI - it takes a day or two for the print book to hook up with the ebook on Amazon, and a week or so for it to meet up with the ebook on B&N, Apple and Kobo.

AND, AS ALWAYS, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR REVIEWS AND TAG ME IN THEM! <3 span="">

COVER REVEAL for WHEN I LIED

I am so excited to bring you my latest novel: WHEN I LIED.

"Finish your work.  Run your errands.  Order pizza for dinner...because once you pick up this book full of twists, turns, and little white lies turning into big, bad regretful ones, you will NOT want to put it down! Michelle Kemper Brownlow, once again, had this reader glued to every word!" – Jillian Stein, Read Love Blog

Lexi is just the sort of girl a dark and brooding rockstar like Oliver Walt would fall for. Beautiful. Wild. Fun. The only problem?

Lexi is a lie

Bookish Kate Green knew she needed to brush up on her social skills before her first year of college, so she created an online persona to chat and flirt. And who better to practice on than talented and tormented rock frontman Oliver Walt? After all, the lead singer of her favorite band would hardly notice one more adoring fan. Except…he does. And with a single private message, Kate’s world changes forever.

Then Oliver wants to meet in person. Kate knows she has to come clean, but things are never that easy, so instead she enlists the aid of her beautiful and calculating study partner…which turns out just the way you might expect. Now, with Gretchen refusing to stop being Lexi, the lies grow bigger by the hour—and so do the stakes. Kate’s heart and Oliver’s life.

To see an excerpt from the book, head over to Heroes & Heartbreakers for their EXCLUSIVE look inside WHEN I LIED!

You can grab a copy of Kate & Oliver's story on APRIL 19TH!

My GREAT BIG ANNOUNCEMENT...

****THE ANNOUNCEMENT****
I have signed a contract with Boroughs Publishing Group for my latest book WHEN I LIED!

I am so excited to bring you Kate & Oliver's story!

The Urban Dictionary defines a "catfish" as:
"Someone who pretends to be someone they're not while using Facebook or other social media to create false identities, particularly to pursue deceptive online romances."

Honor student, Kate Green, sees promise in an out-of-character dive into social media to prepare for her freshman year of college. She quickly learns the ropes as alter ego “Lexi Cartwright.” But when “Lexi” catches the attention of Oliver Walt, lead singer of a British Indie rock band, Kate’s game gets kicked up a notch.

An intense relationship blooms, and before she knows it, Kate has woven herself into Oliver’s life, but as “Lexi”…the biggest lie she’s ever told. And, as if that isn’t bad enough, an unexpected twist of events leaves Kate with no choice but to take that lie one step further. What started as a harmless social experiment soon has the potential to shatter the heart and soul of the man she’s falling for.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS STORY and SO THANKFUL to Boroughs for sharing in that excitement with me!

Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest!!

How I remember 9-11...

We had just moved to Pennsylvania from upstate New York and had been in our new house for a little over 6 months on 9/11/01. Ken was still working in Binghamton Monday - Fridays and came home to us for the weekends.

It was Matthew's first day of Pre-School, the day the moms tag along for the morning, too. I left Emily with my mom and Matthew and I headed to Goodwill Preschool.

We knew NOTHING when we were dismissed at 11:30.

I went to the grocery store before picking Emily up and wasn't surprised when my ATM card didn't work.
"Our bank is still in New York, this happens all the time."
"New York? Well, no wonder it's not working," the cashier said.
I smiled but thought, "How rude!" I assumed it was some grumpy stab at NY state.

I will never forget the look on my mom's face when Matthew and I walked into the kitchen at her house.

"Ma, what's wrong?"
She took Matthew and Emily by the hands and headed for the living room.
"You stay here. Turn on this TV but keep the volume down. And call Ken to make sure Kristin is okay."
(Ken's sister worked on Wall Street and thankfully made it home unscathed)

I did as she said just in time to see the fiery replay of what had played out while I was sitting in Elverson watching 3 year olds find all the items on Miss Linda's Scavenger Hunt List. So breath-takingly innocent.

That night I paced and cried. Two sleeping toddlers and a husband almost 4 hours away, I knew there would be no sleep for me...or only small moments of sleep...I was terrified as I worried what this meant for the future of my children. Would I see them grow up? Was this the beginning of the end?

But, thanks to the brave men and women in the armed services (one being Michael Bobulinski who calmed me down in the wee hours of the morning when he IMd me from work and I was NOT sleeping bc anxiety had gotten the best of me), our country remained safe and have been since that one horrific day.

It is on this day that I REMEMBER those who selflessly responded not knowing if it was the beginning of the end, either. And those who continue to fight for our freedom and our safety.

Thank you!

1st Day of School = My "New Year" Resolutions

My REAL LIFE:

So, it's that day:

• the alarm actually springs you out of bed
• you're excited to pack those lunches
• everyone's smiling and happy about school
• you take the obligatory first day pics
• you send them on their way
• the house is quiet

At least that's how it goes in our house...and has for the last fourteen years, if you count the preschool days.

So, today is a new day for Mom, too. It's the day I start planning how to reconstruct and reorganize my life. I've been at at-home mom (one with many side projects happening all the time) and summer is WONDERFUL for me because I spend so much of my time with my kiddos. But, I do look forward to getting some semblance of organization back now that school is in - even though, as an artist, organization is NOT one of my strong suits.

I'm also re-evaluating my health and wellness...re-starting my focus on keeping my body healthy.

(hands shake as I type this next sentence) AND I'M GIVING UP DIET PEPSI FOR GOOD!

I'm teaching private art lessons, too, which makes me so happy!

My AUTHOR LIFE:

A couple weeks ago I entered the #Pitchwars phenomenon on Twitter, thanks to the amazing Brenda Drake, the mastermind behind all the hubbub. Here's how it goes:

You scroll through all the author mentors and choose five whom you'd like to work with on a finished/polished manuscript. You fill out the Google form with all your info and select those five amazing women.

They take the next couple weeks to read all their submissions, request more of some authors and narrow down their choice to ONE.

The mentor and the author they chose then work together for two months sharpening scenes, killing off darlings (what we authors call cutting scenes and minor characters), polishing until your fingers bleed (well, that's an exaggeration, but almost). 

Then it's the agent round and, with the help of your mentor, your time to shine in front of some of the best literary agents in the business. All the while, hoping for that match made in Heaven that could get your book...your baby...into the hands of salivating readers everywhere.

TOMORROW IS D-DAY!

The day the mentors choose their mentee. There were over 1600 authors who sent in their work and only a handful of mentors-to-be. So, some of these amazing women and men read HUNDREDS of submissions and had to narrow them down to ONE.

So, I wait.

Of course, I follow my mentor choices and hang on every word they tweet. Their super vague hints OF COURSE are all about MY manuscript...jk

So, another of my "resolutions" for this year is to keep current with this author blog and document my journey. I've purposely kept my Mondays FREE for this school year so I have one day a week to re-energize and sort out all that needs to be done in the coming week. So, you may only hear from me on Mondays as I sit and eat my breakfast (like I'm doing now) or you may hear from me as I write and get stuck...and even when I'm procrastinating on a particularly difficult scene.

I am a "helper" by nature and want to give tips and advice to those of you who have a story inside of you and are looking for direction. I can not offer to read everyone's manuscripts and give advice or I'd never get my own writing done but I CAN point you in the direction of editor friends and beta readers who would be able to get you onto their reading schedule.

So, what am I working on?

Well, before the end of last year, I pulled the IN TOO DEEP series from Amazon and it's only available if you buy it used through Amazon sellers. My reason for that is long and drawn out and will probably soon be a blog post but the simplistic version is so I can re-write it and have it available for YOUNG ADULT readers.

WHEN I LIED is done...that's what's making its rounds at #Pitchwars.

I have SHIFT on the back burner.

I started a NEW book, called UPSTAGED, but it's currently sharing the back burner because an amazing agent asked what I was working on and I told her everything that was current as well as the ideas that just had jotted down notes in my IDEA journal...

Don't ya know, one of THOSE is what she was most interested in... so I've started a NEW, NEW book  for her. That book's working title is PURPLE HAZE.

...

...and now I need to take a walk...and check Twitter to see what my five mentors are HINTING at.

For those of you who have LIKED my AUTHOR FB page, I will always post a link there when there's a new post. If you haven't LIKED my page yet, please head over there and do it!

Also, I'd love to connect with you via Twitter, too.

I love reading comments and answering questions, so, please feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Peace.

Teaser Tuesday

I LOVE making teasers, have actually considered making a side-business of it...but not sure how that would go.

So, right now, when I'm procrastinating on my own writing...I make teasers for the IN TOO DEEP series.

Here are a few of the latest ones.