PLANNED is now available for only 99 cents on the Kindle

It's a lovely read, and I have the Amazon feedback to prove it! :)

Purchase Now!!

Here are some of the reviews!!

This book was recommended by a friend, and even though it's not my usual genre, I decided to give it a try. I loved it! The story flows along nicely, and you're right there with the heroine as she goes through it all. The characters are well-written and believable (and will remind you of people in your own life!), and overall it was just too good to put down. I can't recommend this book enough.

Planned was just what I needed on my recent travels. I currently have a full and heavy plate so I wanted something light and engaging-this book fit that requirement perfectly. Planned has great character development and a story line a lot of us can relate to. I found it especially fun because it was based in Portland, OR, where I live. Lastly, you can't beat the price for some good entertainment! 

This is a relaxing, yet intriguing read that I couldn't put down. I found myself completely relating to the main character as she struggled with what she wanted out of her life and how her wants and dreams lined up with society expectations. I loved to watch her evolve and find happiness. Days after I finished the book, I found myself still thinking about the decisions she made and what her life would look like following the book.

How about a sneak peek?

Okay, I realize I don't have a heck of a lot of followers on this blog... Okay, so it's only one. And uhm, that one follower happens to be my best friend. She is the greatest. She'll be there, when I make it big. In the meantime, she (and you, whoever you are... thank you for coming) get to enjoy a special little sneak peek into my upcoming novel "Divine Intervention".

In this story, "my man" John wants nothing more than to find true love. And so he makes a wish upon a star... And he's heard. By a Greek god. Eros promises John true love, but it remains to be seen, if the encounter with this ancient god is a curse or a blessing... Enjoy your read... and if you like it, let me know, and I'll post another sneak peek soon.

 

      "I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. But the bright moonlight shone mercilessly into my window, and I had failed (for months) to fix the shades Marlene broke during a particularly wild sex game. I tried not to think of Marlene and that night, when her feet were propped up against the shades. Suddenly, a crackling noise from the chair next to my bed caught my attention. I opened my eyes and stared straight into the eyes of a man. His face was only three inches away from mine.
    “Oh, you’re awake,” he said, his voice dark and strangely comforting... which really didn’t make it less scary. I rolled away, trying to get away from the stranger, and fell off my bed. A big thump, then everything was silent. My tailbone hurt, and I rubbed it in agony. But I was curious, and peeked over the edge of my bed. There he sat, tall, unbelievably handsome (I can’t believe I’m saying this), with piercing black eyes. He wore jeans and a lose fitting button down shirt. Only the top of his sleeves stretched tightly around thick, muscly arms. He could take me out in a flash.
    “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my bedroom?” 

     I miserably failed at sounding strong and angry. As a matter of fact, my question came out sounding more like a squeal.
    “My name is Eros, dear friend, and I am here, because you wanted my help.” He sounded perfectly calm, and was obviously serious. I still sat on the ground, at a safe distance from this guy, who had somehow managed to get into my apartment without making a sound.
    “Look... uh... Eros. I have no idea who you are, but I most certainly did not ask you to help me with anything.”
    Eros tilted his head and squinted.
    “Excuse me, while I find your exact words.” He pulled a scroll out of nowhere, unrolled it and started reading, mumbling as he tried to find the right spot.
    “Ah, here it is. ‘Well, my friend, I’m going to drink to it. May you always stay single, and may I meet the perfect woman for my happily ever after.’ Is that not what you said to your friend earlier this evening?”
    “Well, yes. Wait, how do you even know that?” I was confused and pinched myself. Maybe I was already asleep, and this was nothing but a silly dream. Eros sighed.
    “Modern people are so ignorant,” he said with indignation. “Do you have any idea who Eros is, my friend?”
    “Uhm... some Greek god.”
    “Ah, yes, some Greek god. Just the answer I would expect from a 21st century man. Well, let me enlighten you, John. I am, indeed, a Greek god. I am the god of infatuation and erotic love.” Proudly, he glanced at me, then continued. “I bring true love to mankind, my dear friend. The most beautiful and honest and unconditional feeling of them all.”
    “Yeah, right. Then where have you been all my life, Eros?”
    “Assisting others. Of course, had you called for me sooner, I would have helped you years ago.” He smiled.
    “Okay, you know, I don’t have time for this nonsense. I don’t know how you got into my apartment, and I don’t care to find out. Why don’t you leave. Disappear. Dissolve.” I clapped my hands as if that would make him magically disappear into thin air. But there he sat, giving me the saddest look and shaking his head at me, like I was a little boy.
    “Marlene, Deborah, Sandy, Sarah, Danielle. Are these not the names of your last few, uhm, life partners?”
    “Girlfriends,” I confirmed uncomfortably.
    “Girlfriends, yes. And these girlfriends, have they not all left your life?”
    “Well, yes, sometimes things just don’t work out, you know.”
    “That is because you have not met the perfect woman yet, my dear friend.”
    I crawled up from my hiding space and sat on my bed. I stared in disbelief at this man, who claimed to be a Greek god, and who knew the names of my girlfriends.  
    “And you are going to find me that woman?” I asked, a little intrigued, as I will admit.
    “She doesn’t need to be found, John. Your perfect woman is out there right now. The two of you just need to meet.”
    “So you know her already?”
    “Why, of course. I am a god after all.”
    “Okay, let’s say I believe you...”
    “And why wouldn’t you,” he interrupted self-righteously.
    “Let’s say, I believe you. You heard my call for your help, and you think it is time for me to meet the right woman, couldn’t you just make that happen? Why did you have to show up here and freak me out?”
    “No reason. I thought it would add a nice touch. Besides, in these modern times, people don’t seem to want true love anymore.”
    “I doubt it. We all want it. Well, except for Phil. But the majority of us want it. But we tend not to ask Greek gods for help. You’re a myth.”
    “I am not!” Eros rose to an impressive height of almost seven feet. “I am as real as you are, and might I add, I am married, and you are not.”
    “Oh, my, aren’t we sensitive?” I started liking this conversation.
    “How would you feel, if someone told you that you were nothing but a myth?” He crossed his huge arms in front of his broad chest.
    “I guess you’ve got a point there.”
    He sat down again and looked at me, and then he smiled.
    “You will embark on an amazing journey, John. Your life will change forever. You will meet that perfect woman soon.”
    “When soon?”
    “I cannot tell you. You will have to wait and find out. Farewell.”
    “That’s it? You’re leaving me now?”
    “Why, yes. I have nothing more to say. Good bye, John.” And with that he did disappear. Just like that. And I was left wondering if I had gone completely insane.
@@@

Procrastination and Deadlines

For your writers out there, both of these words are all too familiar. We all procrastinate, and we know looming deadlines all too well.

Turns out though, I am a person who will do much better with a self imposed deadline. I wrote my book "Divine Intervention" in 30 days during the last National Novel Writing Month. Having to finish a novel in 30 days may seem daunting, but in all honesty, it is what made me sit down day after day, hour after hour, and type away. Some days I wrote until 1am, which is really pushing it for me. I need lots of sleep.

I proudly printed out my finisher's award November 30th and posted it on Facebook. I wanted all to see, just how awesome I was. ;-) Yeah, well, and then came December 1st. And then January 1st, followed by February... and so on. I honestly wanted to sit down and edit my novel, but what can I say? I had no deadline, and so procrastination became my friend. I'm not sure why I didn't get this any sooner. Just a few days ago I finally had my light bulb moment. I needed a deadline... badly. I am giving myself until June 15th to publish this new novel. And I'm editing every single day. Amazing, how that works, right?

I will post an excerpt of "Divine Intervention" here soon. In the meantime, enjoy "PLANNED"... and if you liked it, this little author would appreciate a positive review on Amazon.

About PLANNED

"My last encounter with Sam was in the produce department, where he caught me with a cucumber in my hand and cracked a smile, ready to comment..
     "Don't say it," I said, "I do not want to hear it."
He laughed and said, "hi there, beautiful. I'm not sure what you think I was going to say, but considering the cucumber you're holding there, I imagine it's not rated PG."
     "How would I know what you would have said?"
     I sighed when I realized that I had just given him more reason to continue this useless conversation.
     "Indeed, how would you know. And so it is interesting that you assumed I was going to say something that you didn't want to hear."
     "Sam, has anyone ever told you that it is impossible to have a conversation with you?"
     "Actually, I've been told that conversations with me are invigorating and fun." He was hands on hips, taking a quick peek, into my shopping cart. I loved his confidence, and I also hated it.
     "Well, I have to go. Nice talking to you." I felt so lame for saying this to him, I actually let out a sigh.
     "Is it really that difficult? I was hoping to make up with you, and maybe invite you to my place for coffee."
     "Your place?"
     "The shop, not my apartment of course. I would not dare... Besides, I'd like you to meet my sister. I've told her about you. She wants to meet you."
     I frowned. "What am I, a piece of meat or something? If your sister wants to meet me, she'll have to come by my house and introduce herself to me."
     "It's a deal then. We'll be there Saturday night at eight. I'll bring wine," he said, waved his hand good-bye and took off.
     I stood with my cucumber, staring after him, confused and a little angry.
     "Hey, wait," I called and waved wildly with the cucumber. But Sam was long gone, and an elderly man shook his head at me.
     "He just assumes I like wine." I mumbled and tossed the cucumber into my cart.
     Sam had just broken all the rules that were important to me. He confused me. He invited himself over to my house. And he would bring his sister."

This excerpt is taken from the beginning of the book, of course. Claire, my protagonist (and a real jerk!), has just met Sam, and, unlike all the other men she has ever met and dated, she cannot read him, and therefore finds it difficult to keep her composure. She is independent and strong, advises women to stay away from marriage and children, and I will guarantee that you are not going to like her one bit. Well, at the beginning at least. Because she learns a few difficult lessons throughout the story, and by the end of the book, she has turned over a new leaf, and is actually quite likeable.

I had the idea for this book years ago, and in my imagination it took a completely different turn, than what finally poured out of me during National Novel Writing Month in 2009. Yes, I wrote this story in 30 days... Of course then I took about a year to actually edit and publish it. My hesitation came from the fact, that I'm a German native speaker, rather than an American. I felt self conscious about putting my work out there for everyone to read. But luckily I had my best friend, who read the whole thing, laughed and cried at all the right places, and encouraged me to "just do it". And so I did. 


A word of warning: This is a romantic comedy (not an erotic romance novel). It is an easy read, something you can read on a plane, or while sitting out in the sun, or on a rainy day. I hope you enjoy the story... and if you do, I would appreciate a positive review on Amazon. The more the better!

Welcome!

If you have found your way here, you have either read my book, or are curious after I posted the link to my Facebook page. Or you're one of my dear friends, who had mercy and decided help my stats climb.

Whatever your reason for clicking on this blog, thank you for visiting. Let me tell you a little bit about myself.

As some know already, Gabrielle is really only my middle name, and Moon is not actually my last name. I chose this pen name, because 1) I have a funny sounding German name that people just can't seem to pronounce, 2) I do really love the moon. I should write a book about the moon.

I call Portland, Oregon my home. I live here with my husband whom we shall call Ogre (based on his sheer height, and it really is his nickname in volleyball groups), my daughter, the Prima Ballerina, and my son, Indiana Luke Skywalker Jones (I should probably refer to him as ILSJ!) My kids are 11 and 9 years old respectively, and as you can see from my blog description, they're homeschooled. Yep, we're those weirdos... but we really are quite normal. My kids enjoy their friends, Wii, games, movies, and of course pushing each other's buttons, until Mom has a tizzy.

Ogre works from home. He spends the vast majority of his time in his office, writing code of some sort. Every now and then he will appear from the depths of his cave to explain to me something I don't understand, or to pour himself yet another cup of coffee.

As for me, I am your average housewife, crazy volunteer, half-assed writer with procrastination issues, who is desperately trying to keep up with homeschooling, cleaning, working out (Crossfit anyone?), volunteering, knitting... oh yes, and writing. Writing, it has been my dream career since I was a little girl. I wrote my first "book" with a pen and lots of paper at the tender age of 13. In 8th grade, my teacher had me know that writing was not a career... and especially not for (wait for it) a girl! Of course, I believed him, and so I gave up writing.

For about 20 years I tried to do "other things", you know, things that people do, because that's what you do. I became a cosmetologist, sold beauty products at home parties, created gift baskets, tried my luck at translations, and briefly worked at a telephone marketing company (nuf said). And then, about 5 years ago, I found my way back to writing, by way of a magazine article for the Institute for Children's Literature. And that pretty much sealed the deal for me. Two writing courses, many magazine articles, and one published book later, I can say, I'm doing just what I want to be doing.

I self published my novel, PLANNED, last year in April, and amazingly enough, I actually made money on it. THANK YOU!!!

My new novel, a sweet, romantic comedy, called DIVINE INTERVENTION, is in the works, and the plan is for it to be published in June. Stay tuned for more information on this new work, which I will soon post about. Also, this blog is the only place where you'll be able to read excerpts of the book, so do please come back.

My idea for this blog is to keep readers in the loop about my work, but also on why I chose to self publish, how I did it, what I'd do different in the future, and quite possibly, you'll get to read the occasional rant about my favorite subject: PROCRASTINATION!

Have a wonderful day!