You wanted it, you got it!

The one thing I heard repeatedly after people read Loving Her was that they wanted more. They wanted to know the characters better, they wanted more of their stories.

Since Loving Her came out, I have been talking about writing prequels. I worked on them whenever the mood would strike. In all honesty, I loved the characters and I wanted to revisit them. I only got into it seriously this year, though.

I don't know why that is. Especially since these women are all so near and dear to my heart. But for whatever reason, NOW is the time for them.

What I had originally anticipated to be a set of prequels flowing into the book of Loving Her has become something different, but definitely something better.



Each woman now has her own novella. You will get the prequels mixed in with the original short stories and end in different ways. You will still see the connections and impacts they all have on each other, but now you will also see each woman for the person she really is.


I am so very excited about this! I can't even begin to tell you how I feel about this project as a whole, or the enjoyment I'm getting for writing each and every one of these stories.

It has been an amazing journey and I cannot wait to show you the final products.

We are starting with the first release in August! Details will come as we approach the release date. For now, I will tell you that the first story is Liz, the ballerina.

I hope you enjoy finding out more about her.

I hope you like these stories better than the originals! :)
I certainly had a wonderful time writing them, and I cannot wait for you to get your own copies of these books!!

Happy reading!

Reinventing Myself

Good Thursday morning!


Today, I want to share some very exciting news with you. Well, I think it's exciting. ;)



On Monday, I launched my brand new website, www.laurenshiro.com


You'll notice my surname changed. Why, you ask. Well, the ever amazing Vanilla Heart Publishing and I are re-releasing ALL of my books under my married name in celebration of my first wedding anniversary and also those recent political changes that actually make my marriage legal.



First up is Loving Her, but it's not what you'd expect. Instead, each character in Loving Her is getting her own story, her own book and they will all be released as a series! This is so exciting to me. I love these characters and I am thrilled that I can clean up their stories and present them to you in this manner.



Some of it will be new, some of it will be familiar. I think you will be blown away by how these women have grown and what their stories really are.


I am so very excited about all of this change and all the changes yet to come. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the least! ;)



So stay tuned for all the upcoming rerelease dates and happy rereading! ;)

Washing the Dishes

Hey gang! It's Thursday, so you know what that means.

It's blog time!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)



Do you watch TV? More importantly, do you ever watch the commercials? Yes? Good!




Let's be honest, most of the commercials on TV today are ridiculously over dramatized. The slightest problem (opening a jar, blow drying your hair - you name it) suddenly becomes a huge fiasco. But for $19.95, they have the remedy. There is even a man who says there is nothing worse than having to wait in line at the post office. Really? So, you'd rather have cancer than wait in line at the post office? Thankfully, sir, they have a remedy for your worst nightmare.



Another one that gets me are the dish detergent commercials. Are you serious? Who washes their dishes like Vanna White?!


On a good day, I'm just rinsing off the debris and putting them into the dishwasher. On a bad day, I actually use a bit of elbow grease. Like a normal person!


Why the tirade, you ask. Simple. It's not real. For as much as I have been talking about the freedom of fiction, there is something to be said for being realistic.


When I write my stories, I want my characters to be real; to be people you can relate to. If I write about someone who unrealistically handles even the most mundane of activities, I am going to lose you as a reader. You will lose interest in the characters, the story, the book. I want to write stories that you want to read! I want to tell you stories that grip you, that you can relate to, that touch you. To me, it would be pointless to tell a story that is just beyond belief.




Now, I'm not talking about fantasy or sci fi or anything like that. I give TREMENDOUS credit to authors who write those stories. Their imaginations are amazing and their stories are wonderful. I am talking about contemporary fiction, contemporary romance novels, etc. The stories that are in the here and now.


Call me crazy, but I live in a world where I work up a sweat vacuuming; I actually scrub when washing the dishes; and I actually have to do laundry. I live in reality and I'm assuming you do as well. Hence the reason for my REAL stories.




I hope you can relate to them and that you enjoy the realistic settings for my stories.

Happy reading, guys! :)

Improving My Craft

Howdy, y'all!



'Tis Thursday again, which means yet another blog post from yours truly.

What do I have to say for myself today?


Not much. LOL


Actually, I wanted to talk about improving your craft.

As you go through life, you change and (hopefully) improve as a person. We have things we are ashamed of, but we learned from them and became better people. No, this is not a discussion on current celebrity issues. My point is, as humans grow and change, so does their writing (assuming those humans are writers).


As I continue to work on the prequels to Loving Her, I find myself mildly amused at how staccato my voice was. Granted, it still is, but not nearly what it used to be. Yes, now I embellish. I give details and descriptions. There are emotions and weather and everything else. Not only am I telling a story, I am setting the stage for it as well.


My voice is still my own. No one can ever fully change that. I don't think that's a bad thing at all. A writer's voice is what makes them unique. Five writers could be lined up and told to tell the same story and you would still end up with five different stories. That is part of what makes the arts grand. No two pieces are ever truly alike.


I digress. My point is that as I have grown, changed and improved, so has my writing. These prequels surpass the original group of stories. It's interesting to watch, and I do wonder what Loving Her would look like should I write those stories now.



Everyone has to start somewhere. Just like with anything in life, the more we do something, the better at it we become. So remember that as you're reading my - or any other author's work. What we put out may not necessarily be our best work. It just be indicative of the good things yet to come! ;)


Happy reading!