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I have lots of ideas for books. Some of them are further along than others. Some of them haven't even been started. My biggest problem is that I don't know how to finish a book. I'm taking a course to change that though. At any rate, here are some of my ideas. They are ordered according to the amount of work completed.

  1. THE COMMUTERS
    • Fiction, definitely chick-lit
    • This is a story about the different facets of women. There are so many things that help us make our decisions, most of them emotional. But all of them are justifiable and understandable... to women. This story is about four diverse women in very different places in their lives and their reasons for choosing to travel an hour away from home every day to work and the impact it has on their lives. These women have their reasons for making the decisions they do... and they depend on each other to affirm that.
    • Main Characters
      • Laural Peterson: early-40s, wife and mother. She is also a lawyer. She loves her family, but is not ready to give up her career, even if it means commuting to Chicago every day. She received her degree from Harvard Law and has been employed at Avery, Harper, & Thomas ever since. She began her illustrious career sitting third and fourth chair to the senior partners. Now she has her own caseload and is often requested by the firm’s most prestigious clients. Her husband handed over the reins of his construction company to stay home and play Mr. Mom to their two children.
      • Zoey Quinn: mid-20s, single, and lives with her 89-year-old grandmother, Georgia. Though Georgia tells everyone who will listen that she doesn’t need Zoey to take care of her, she secretly wouldn’t give up their living arrangement for the world. Zoey and Georgia have always had a very special bond. Zoey is a mature, responsible, young woman, who truly enjoys listening to her grandma’s stories and unsolicited advice. Zoey has lived with Georgia since she was in high school. Her father was dying of cancer and her mother chose that opportunity to abandon them both. Her mother is only a part of her life when she breezes through town for a visit. As a romance novelist, she lives as exciting a life as the characters that she writes about. Zoey graduated from the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago with a degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising. She is now working for a Chicago design firm. She loves downtown Chicago and would love to move there, especially since her boyfriend lives there. But she just feels as though she'd be abandoning her grandmother.
      • Nora Wills: late-50s, widow, mother and grandmother. She has been a nurse for 32 years. After completing college, she married her high school sweetheart. They had three children and settled into life in small-town, middle America. Her husband taught biology and chemistry in the local high school, where she was the school nurse. Her three sons are all grown and have started their own families. As Nora and her husband were happily adjusting to their recent retirement and empty nest, Frank died as a result of a massive stroke, leaving Nora all alone. In order to keep her head above water financially and to fill some of her time, she put on her nurse's uniform and went back to work at a hospital in Chicago.
      • Elizabeth Owens: early-30s, single, and a college student. She’s not a new college student; she’s been trying to finish her degree for years. Like many young high school graduates, she went straight to college. Because she wasn’t all that committed, she did not do well and quickly dropped out. After working a few years in a local department store, her boss convinced her to start taking classes part-time at the local community college. She realized that she enjoyed it and was actually pretty good at it, fueling her desire to return to college full-time to get her degree. When she was offered a scholarship from Loyola University in Chicago, she decided to accept. But she couldn’t afford to live alone in Chicago; she was just getting by in her small apartment with two roommates. So, she decided it was financially more feasible for her to maintain her current living situation and commute to school.

  2. HER SECRET
    • Fiction, again, definitely chick-lit, but more spiritual
    • This story is all about one woman and the changes that have happened in her life over the last three years. It's a story about faith and forgiveness and opening one's heart to allow both.
    • Main Characters
      • Mary Roman: mid-40s, single. She’s been in this small, southern Indiana community less than a year. Her job allows her to spend most of her time alone, which is exactly how she wants it. She finally decides that she needs to find a church. In doing so, she starts to become part of the community. When her new friends realize they don't know much about her, they start to pry. But Mary is very vague in her answers and doesn't open up easily. She is a very devout Christian woman, but seems to have a deep secret that she's unwilling to share.
      • Paul Bradford: late-40s, widowed. He is a well-known member of the community. He runs the local newspaper and champions several charity events. He is on the welcoming committee at the church and takes an active role in introducing her to other members of the church. He is kind and intelligent and truly seems interested in who Mary is...if he could only figure that out.

  3. THE LOFT
    • Fiction, definitely chick-lit, this time for adults AND teens
    • This story is about a young, out-of-control teenage girl and the summer she spent at her grandmother's farm. She discovers her mother's childhood secret place. She also learns a lot about the history of the women in her family. Ultimately, her 15th summer becomes a changing point in her life.
    • Main Characters:
      • Josie: 15 years old, a fairly typical teen. She's in the 9th grade and should be doing much better than her grades indicate. She's the ultimate under-achiever. She spends more time getting into trouble and trying to avoid doing what's expected of her, than she does her homework. She's not shy and has no problem expressing herself. Unfortunately, most of the things she chooses to share are snide, rude remarks. She's forever getting shocked reactions from those around her. Her parents have tried everything to effect change in her attitude and behavior. She simply won't budge.
      • Ruth: grandma-aged. She is intelligent, agile for her age, and hard-working. And she knows exactly how to deal with anything remotely resembling trouble. She's lived and worked on a farm her whole life, raised three sons and a daughter, survived her husband's death, and still manages operations at the farm. She can come across a bit gruff sometimes, but has a very kind heart.

  4. IT'S A GOD-THING
    • Fiction, but this one is more spiritual
    • When something happens in a person’s world, something out of the norm, bringing them to a new situation where God needs them to be, that's a God-thing. This story is about a series of God-things that remind us that we're not in charge and that if we just let those God-things happen, we'd be much better off.