A Week and a Day

Happy Thursday, gang!


So today, I wanted to express my excitement and enthusiasm. In EIGHT days, I will have something wonderful to share with you!




I'm excited. There has been a lot of change and progression. In eight days, you will understand what that means.


I hate being vague, but this one cat that needs to stay in the bag until next Friday.



So what does this mean for you? Well, lots of suspense between now and then. Stay tuned to my twitter and Facebook accounts for more info, updates and teases.



Next week, my blog will be pushed to Friday. I would like to keep you in suspense for as long as I can (mean, I know). And of course, an announcement on Friday should really warrant its own blog. So, I'm gonna make you wait!

EIGHT long days!





Eight days and we will embark on a wonderful new adventure together. Hang in there! It'll be worth it, I promise!

Only 15 days Left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thursday, gang!

If you haven't already noticed, I am very much a count-down type of person. I like to plan things. I like to think ahead. Good, bad or different, that's just me.

So, you can imagine how excited I must be that we have something WONDERFUL happening on Aug. 23.

August 23 is my grandfather's birthday. He passed in April. I know full well that I am incredibly blessed to have had him all this time. He was 93, he would be turning 94 on Aug. 23. I know people who have lost parents, siblings and children...all fairly recently. I hate talking about my loss with/around them because I feel that their pain & losses are far greater than mine.



My grandfather is the most important person in my life. Always has been, always will. You don't need to know my family history, all of our deep, dark secrets, etc. Really, the only important thing right now is my grandfather.



So, being the person that I am, I did not want his birthday to come and go as an ordinary day. So it won't! I am getting the most wonderful, amazing way to pay him tribute on his birthday!

What is it? Ah patience, grasshopper. For that, you will need to wait.

That is what brings us back to the count-down concept. I am counting down the number of days till 8/23. I hope you will count down with me. Because for as special as that day will be for me, it will be ten times better for you! :)


Happy reading!!!! :)

Joyful Writing

It is Thursday yet again!

Today, I want to talk about the joy of writing.

For anyone who knows me personally knows that I am very fully, silly person. I love to joke around and make people laugh.

What's interesting is that as a child, I was very serious and intense. Laughter was hard for me.

I'm glad I've lightened up as I've gotten older. But I do still remain rather serious when it comes to my writing. At times, it has been more like a chore than a joy. I did it out of obligation rather than out of my passion. I enjoyed my finished products, but the joy of the process had been lost.

As you know, I am rewriting the stories in Loving Her. In doing so, I see how I have changed. I see how my writing style has changed and improved. I see how I - and my characters - have evolved. More importantly, I see how the joy has come back.

I am getting lost in these women and their stories. I am writing feverously. I look forward to writing. I am enjoying the process again.

I feel as though I have woken up. I feel so much observant of thing. I just feel content.

This personal reinvention is not just about my name. It is exactly that: a real personal reinvention. My books are the positive product and you, the readers, reap the rewards of it all.

I am looking forward to all of the writing yet to be done, and for your enjoyment of these new and improved stories.

Happy reading! ;)

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! ;)