Yes, I’ve done it again. I’ve listened to one song over and over while writing.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know I like music, and when I find a song that I feel embodies the book I’m writing, I tend to listen to it over and over.

I’ve posted the other songs for the All Series.

For All or Nothing, I listened to this song.

For All of Me, I listened to this song.

For All The Way, I listened to this song.

So moving on, the fourth book in the All Series, All I Want, is the story of Sean Callahan and Carly Springfield.

There was no better song than I Do, by Mark Willis.

 

 

Are you a resolution or a goal type of person? Me, I guess I could say I’m more goal-oriented. So much so, I’ve never needed New Year’s Day to decide to make a list of goals. And this year isn’t really much different.

Although I will say, aside from professional and personal goals I’ve made (no, I won’t be sharing them all, sorry) I’ve decided on two things I’m going to focus on in 2016. What are they? Well, that I will share.

Health and Happiness. Yep, two big words and two things I’m going to focus on this coming year and every year after. How am I going to focus on them? That remains to be seen.

Health. That’s always easier said than done. I’m a pretty healthy girl. I workout 6 days a week, I eat fairly healthy, and yet my body betrayed me. It sucks to get old. That’s a post for another day, I promise. Still, my focus in this department will be ongoing.

Happiness. I’m a pretty happy person too, and I’ve always tried to look for the best in everything. I’ll be doing that more though, because when I do that, I find that it just makes me less stressed. And less stress leads to more happiness. Right? That’s what I’m telling myself! Whatever works.

So how about you? Goals or resolutions? Or nothing at all, because hey, there is nothing wrong with that either. We shouldn’t just focus on one day to better our lives, we should focus on it every day.

In keeping with my music theme while writing the All Series, I’m going to let you in on the song that I listened to over and over again while writing All The Way, the 3rd book in the All Series.

For All or Nothing, I listened to this song.

For All of Me, I listened to this song.

Drum roll please… As promised I wasn’t going to list another song with the same title as my book, which was just a coincidence anyway.

For All The Way, I listened to “It’s Your Love” by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. It’s so Alec! Enjoy!

If you’d like to be an ARC reader for this book, or any of my future books, check this post out for details. And don’t forget about my mailing list, please join!

All of Me is out for pre-order right now on Amazon.

Here is an excerpt from the chapter Believed Him.

“Do you want some help planting your flowers?” he asked her after they both had eaten their fill and the leftovers were wrapped up. Pepperoni for him to take home, mushroom for her left in the fridge.

“I guess I could use some help,” she said coyly.

“So I’m making it past the second chance date?” He fought back his laugh when she choked on her wine. Sometimes knowing each other so well might not be the best thing, at least in her eyes.

When she was done coughing, she said, “I guess so.”

He knew all about her second chance dates. She had a rule that every person deserved a second chance. He never knew why, and never really asked. But plenty of instances she would tell him about the horrendous first dates she went on and then told him she would schedule a second one.

It made no sense to him at all. Really, the only thing he thought of at the time she brought them up was that he was glad he wasn’t on the dating scene. The thought of the things she encountered would be enough to make him go into seclusion.

“I can work around your schedule,” he offered.

“That’s nice, but I’m pretty swamped this week still. They’re getting plenty of light in the mudroom, and I’ll keep them watered. I’m thinking sometime this weekend. I’m flexible if you have plans.”

“I can be available for whenever you want me.” He didn’t miss the dilation of her eyes at that statement, the double meaning reaching her.

She nodded her head, then placed her empty glass of wine on the table. Her second and last one, she’d said earlier. And here it comes, he thought. “We need to figure out where we go from here,” she said, looking in his eyes and holding his stare.

“Do you need it in writing?” he asked, trying to make light of the situation. It wasn’t funny to him, but he didn’t see the need to plan it all out either.

“Of course not.” She smiled back at him. “I guess I need some guidelines. We keep talking about the way we were before, and about moving forward. What are we? Friends, dating, something in between?”

“We will always be friends. I think it’s more than dating. It’s way beyond that for me, at least. It always was, if you want to be honest. I asked you before what you wanted from someone out of a relationship. I understand not wanting to lay it all on the table, but I need to ask if you even want to be in a relationship right now?”

He watched her eyes wander over his face. Then she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, gave him a soft caress, then dropped her hand away. That action, the softness in her, all those things he longed to see directed toward him filled him with emotions deeper than he thought possible. “I want to be in one, yes. But I don’t want to lose your friendship. You mean a lot to me. Your whole family does. I’m unsure of where to go, or how to handle this if something goes wrong.”

Those thoughts had crossed his mind also, but then he brushed them aside. He wasn’t looking for something to go wrong, not when he had been waiting for this for what seemed like forever. He refused to even consider the possibility of it.

It wasn’t the time to say that, not yet anyway. “You will never lose my friendship. Or my family. There is no worry there. Whatever happens to us, I will always be there for you, Sophia. I can promise you that.”

Her eyes watered and a gentle expression crossed her face. “Thank you for that. Your family means the world to me. You know enough about my family life to know I’ve never had anything stable before. I don’t want to risk losing the one stable family in my life.”

“You won’t.” He pulled her off her barstool until she was standing between his legs and held her close, his arms wrapped tightly around her, trying to reassure her.

A moment later she sat back down. “I’ll make the same promise to you.” She picked up her napkin and blotted her eyes, then laughed. “Great, you’ve seen me cry on only our second date. That’s a wonderful impression.”

He chuckled. “We aren’t dating,” he reminded her. “I’ve seen you do more than cry.”

There was no way to miss the shiver that ran through her body with that statement. “So you have.”

If you’d like to be an ARC reader for All of Me, read this post for more information.