Pumpkin Pie Spice and Everything Nice...

It’s Halloween and I love it. I don’t get into all the scary stuff, but I do love to dress up. Last year I was Noah in the Ark. What will I be this year? Hummmmm…… I have several ideas but no reveal until tonight at Church. We’re having our annual Truck or Treat and I always go all out with my costumes for the kids. I’m a big kid at heart so why not show it to the world. I’ll be posting a picture of me tonight.

As for the Pumpkin Pie Spice, I purchased my first seasonal coffee creamer of the season. It was heavenly this morning as I took the first sip of the creamy concoction. It made my day seem so exciting and mysterious. As the clouds roll in setting up for the rain to come later tonight, I’m working on my second cup of deliciously flavored coffee and thinking about a third. Why not? 

As for everything nice, my book sale is up on most of my sites, but not on Barnes and Noble yet. Hopefully by the end of the week. I’m excited about my upcoming blog post in the Southern Writer’s Magazine Suite T blog which will appear November 18th. Things have moved along pretty quickly with my writing and I’m just riding on this wave of awesomeness. 

Looking into a couple of advertising areas that have been recommended to me. Let me know your thoughts on these two sites: BookBub and Blodads.com. Have any of you used these sites and how did it go? Do you have another recommendation?

Hope all is well on this spookiest day of the year. Happy Halloween and stay safe, but have a marvelous time being someone or something else today.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

When The Words Flow...

Have you ever had a moment when the words just flowed from your fingertips? As a writer this is wonderful. It’s the times when your fingertips seem to stop up that’s a problem.

Another problem is when too many stories flow from your fingertips. That’s my problem, again. It’s of course a good problem to have, but then your mind seems to be a web of stories. As you work on one story, the other lobe of your brain is working out the outline for another story. I actually dreamed about one of my stories last night. It’s filled my head so much that even my subconscious can’t get past it.

So, hopefully the five different stories I’m working on will come together quickly. My brain is on overload and with tax season over I have a little more time to finish and polish. I’m just giddy with the aspect of five stories before Christmas. One is a Christmas story so that’s a good thing. 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Crazy Maybe, Thankful Definitely

How many writers have been told they’re nuts? I know I have. It’s almost hilarious the looks you get when you say you’re a writer. Some give you a sympathetic look. Some give you that ‘you can’t do anything else with your life,’ look. The one I love is the one where they look like ‘you’re nuts.” Ok, well maybe I am, but it’s something I love. 

Now anyone can say they’re writers, but how many can say they’re published writers? The first question usually asked is, “How’s that working out for you?” I always laugh and say it’s going wonderfully for me. I can finally say what I dreamed of years and years ago, “I’m a published author and am making money with my dream.” 

As for the “you can’t do anything else with your life”, well if you’ve read my bio you know I do a lot with my life. We are only given one chance at the pie so why not dip your fork into every slice you can. I run a successful accounting business which I built through experience and passion for the work. I’m a Children’s Ministry Director and dearly love what I do to minister to children. Then I get to do what only some sit and dream about. I get to put my dreams and thoughts into writing. I get to put romance, love, tears, heart and other emotions into someone’s life through my words. It’s a very humbling feeling to hear from my fans. Good or bad I have some faithful fans that ask when’s the next book coming out, where’s this character going from here, and so many more questions.

So where am I going with this post? I’m so thankful for the fans that support my writing. I’m thankful for the ones that write the adoring reviews and emails that I love reading every morning. This past year I’ve made friends all over the world and it’s been a very exciting time in my life. So, without further ado, I want to announce a huge sale. I’m doing a sale that will start today and run throughout Novemeber to show my thanks to all that follow me and even those that don’t but might start later.

The sales will be on all my stand alone books, not the bundles as they’re already reduced based on the amount of books included. You can find them at http://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Hurt/e/B00850W7U8 and https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/StephaniePayneHurt and http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Stephanie+Payne+Hurt.

Soon they will show up on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Sony and the other sites where my books are located. It usually takes about a week for the prices to show up on these sites, but the above link should start showing today and tommorow. So thanks and if you feel like it, give a review. I love to hear your thoughts.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday Morning's Second Cup

If you haven't noticed yet, it's Monday morning. Yes, I know, don't remind you.

Yesterday I went over one of my manuscripts in process. It's the 2nd book in the "Lean On Him" Christian Romance series. The name is "Faith Through The Tears" and tears are the main point. I've been working on another manuscript and decided to get back to this one. I read over the manuscript to get my mindset on it and was blown away at the emotions.

As I read the opening 1st chapter tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn't help but get emotional. I don't know whether it stems from the emotional week I've had or what, but it affected me. Yes it's a romance, not a dramatic thriller, but the first chapter is to draw you into the story. I will attach some of the first chapter below for your opinion. It's funny but I have this whole book in my mind already. It's just the emotional strain that's made me walk away a couple of times.

Why does a fictional story evoke so much emotion? As a writer its like I know these people and what happens to them affects me. I feel like I've experienced the losses they have and the happiness they have. Maybe that's a sign of good emotional writing, I don't know, but I do know I'm keeping the tissues close as this one unfolds.

So, here's a excerpt from "Faith Through The Tears" :

As he watched her lying in the hospital bed, tears streamed down his face. It was so hard watching her like this. They knew this moment was coming, but it’d happened so quickly. The doctor confirmed that she was out of remission only a month ago. He told them it didn’t look good for another round of chemo. They prayed on it and decided not to even try any more treatments.

He held her hand and watched for any sign that she might be in pain. She was a real trooper. Luke and Amanda brought the girls by and Rachel held up the strong act. They tried to hide the extent of her illness from the kids. The girls were so strong. Audrey was five and Shelby six. Audrey’s lip began to quiver a little as she looked at her mommy lying so pale on the bed. Shelby was quiet as she kept her eyes on the floor. When she did look at Rachel it was plain that she was holding back tears. They were too small to lose their mother. He was too young to lose the love of his life.

The nurse came in and checked her IV bag. She looked at Randy and gave him a smile that said how sorry she was.  “Can I get you anything?” There was so much compassion in her eyes and the tone of her voice. She knew the same thing he knew. The time was near.

“Thank you, but I’m alright. I don’t think I could keep food down anyway.” He tried to smile, but it came off wobbly and moist from his tears. How could he even try to eat when his stomach was clenched in misery?

“If you need anything just buzz the nurse’s station. You’ll make yourself sick by not eating. You need to keep up your strength.” She gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and walked out. All the nurses knew him since he was on the police force. This was a small town and most of them went to their Church.

Their pastor and his wife had been wonderful. They took turns with Luke and Amanda watching the girls. The Church had even done a prayer vigil two days ago. He knew that God would do His will. He knew that Rachel was a good woman and had given her soul to the Lord a long time ago. She wasn’t afraid to die. They’d discussed and prayed about it on many occasions. The only fear she had was for him and the girls. Her eyes filled with tears just talking about the girls growing up.

Well, this was the unedited excerpt, hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Summer is now a Memory, Bring on Fall

Well, the shorts are packed up and safely in the attic until the sun warms the land again. The sweaters and jackets are washed and put in the closet ready to take on the cold winter air. The fireplace insert is cleaned and ready for the first crackling fire that may come today. The fire wood is stacked on the back patio where the pool supplies stood just last week. It’s finally Fall in Georgia and it’s beautiful.

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve planted pansies and mum to keep the color splash as the cool night bring on the orange, yellow, red and brown leaves. Soon the only color will be the blue skies and the mums and pansies. The leaves will fall away and the trees will hibernate and replenish waiting on Spring. The sun comes up later and descends early. The nights are longer, but cozy by the fire.

It’s time to bring out the hot chocolate and marshmellows. It’s time to sit outside by the chimnea and watch as the fire sparkles bright yellow, orange and red. Oh what a wonderful time to be alive.

It’s also a wonderful time to curl up with a good book or with a unfinished manuscript. I’m always inspired when the air grows cool. Amazingly enough, most of my work is done during the cooler time of the year. Even as I sit with my coffee and still warm cinnamon roll twists this morning I’m drawn to my latest work. I just feel creative this morning. Too bad I have clothes to wash, bathrooms to clean and floors to mop, but they will wait until possibly after lunch.

So as always, good writing and May God Bless You…

2nd Cup of Coffee and Cool Fall Morning

I just love this time of the year. It’s so cozy curled up in the corner of the couch with my throw and coffee. I feel invigorated. The leaves are on the verge of change and the air is so clean. It’s amazing what God has given us.

I am nursing my second cup of coffee as I type this post. Yes, I’m still on vacation, so no hurry to shower and get dressed. I actually typed 4000 words yesterday. It was a very productive day. I have my outline beside me now and am pumped about today’s word count. If you’re a writer you know what I mean. It’s fun when the story is just spilling from your mind to your fingertips. The only problem I have is I want to get to the happenings of chapters ahead of where I am. Funny thing about a story is it unfolds sometimes in a crazy order. I can see the last act so clearly and it guides me through the middle story which leads you up to the final words. 

I’ve taken some advice from a fellow blogger and writer that has helped so much with this manuscript. I am so guilty of editing and proofing as I go. It’s a slow process when you do it that way. I’m bad about going back and rewriting parts or correcting spelling or grammer. As she said in her post, don’t do that until the first draft is complete. It does hinder your rhythm as you work. If you stop and go several times your brain gets in a fog. I typed yesterday continuously and refused to go back and edit even though at times I wanted to sooooooo bad.

How do you write? What’s the pet peeve of your writing? If you have a finished piece of work and need some help with the polishing, go to the Horseshoe Publishing tab at the top of my page and check out our polishing services. Your hard work needs to be out there, so get it polished and shiny and ready for the public to ooh and awe over it.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…