Why do you write?

That's a weird question to a writer, but to someone from the outer non writer world it seems logical. I've had this question posed to me on several occasions. So today I'll try to answer this in my own life. Why do I write? Well, it's a a passion. I guess my passion for writing started with my intense passion for reading. I've always loved to read. When I was young I'd read mysteries and old classics. Then as I became a teenager I was introduced to romance novels. Well that was it for me. I was hooked on romances. I'd go through a couple a week. It was thrilling to get carried away to another world. So, I started writing what came into my mind as a teenager. I'd fill up notebooks with stories. Mostly they were romances, but I did pen out a couple of mysteries. I'm actually thinking of working on a romance filled with mystery. We'll see how that goes. There's a feeling I get when I sit down to write. It's like no other feeling. I get immersed in the world of my characters. It's amazing how you can get so into their story that you actually get lost. Sometimes it's hard to get back into the here and now. Of course right now is the busiest time of the year for my accounting business. But I still set aside time to write and plot out stories. It's actually a stress reliever. If I'm feeling too overwhelmed I'll go into Bigstockphoto.com or one of the other picture sites and try to set up what I want for a cover. It inspires me. Or I'll work on an outline of a story I'm working on. I sprinkle my nights with reading and writing. I consider reading like research for writing. As I read other authors work it helps to keep me focused on my own writing. So, why do you write? As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Unlikely Heros during a bad situation in Georgia

I know, you're saying 'not a big deal', but Georgia doesn't see this often and especially the ice and 8 degree temps. At least we haven't lost power. I'm just glad I don't work in Atlanta. If you've seen the news, then you know what happened with the traffic. It was horrible and I heard so many horror stories of the 16 to 22 hours sitting on the interstate. I'm having a panic attack just thinking about it. Well that puts me to my topic for today. I couldn't believe it as I watched the horror unfold Tuesday night on TV. People were stuck on the interstates all around and children were stranded at school. The worst was those that did manage to get on buses and the bus getting stranded. It's amazing the hero's that show up during these situations. Our wonderful law officers always step up to the plate and those that are in the emergency management positions, but I'm talking about just everyday people. I'm going to hit on some of the ones that moved me as I watched the stories. The teachers that were stranded with the children. To me that's heroism. You may not think so, but those parents that were at home had a little bit of relief that those teachers were there. They stayed with those children and fixed meals, entertained them and were their parents for several hours. It's hard to imagine what had to be going through their minds. I can't even comprehend it. They were true heros and stepped up to the plate. Then I heard of so many going out on foot to those stranded on the interstates. They showed several passing out hot chocolate and others handing out snack bars and water. Even a couple were handing out toilet paper. Things that we take for granted, these people had none of this. I'm sure they were thankful for whatever they could get. One guy even handed out fruit snacks for the children that were stranded in the cars with their families. You know it had to be hard on all of them. A lot of the stranded drivers were truck drivers. They even stepped up letting people get in their warm cabs to get warmth. Then you have those that stepped up and risked their lives by helping people get their cars out of ditches or unstuck. Even Chipper Jones, a former Atlanta Braves player helped out. It's amazing the amount of compassion that was shown during this. Also a big shout out to the many stores that opened up their doors to those stranded motorists. People were sleeping in the aisles of grocery stores, card stores and others. It just goes to show that in a bad situation, people step up to the plate. They may not consider themselves heros, but to those that they helped they're Superman or Wonderwoman. It touched me. I counted myself lucky that my family was safely tucked in at home by the fire. We still have no school and my hubby is here on standby. As for me, I'm working at my kitchen table where it's warm. That's the nice thing about having my office beside my house. I can telecommute. So if you know of someone who has been helpful in this crazy winter, give them a shout out. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Snowy night in Georgia!

Well the meterologists got it right. Here in Georgia we're getting lots of snow. It's pretty and really cold. I know those of you from the north are laughing at us southerners, but we don't get this often. We're definitely not prepared for it. Atlanta highways are almost closed down and the roads are iced over. As for me, I'm sitting in my cozy den with a roaring fire. It's a great night to write a beach scene that I've been working on. I'm thinking warm thoughts.....Yeah that helped thaw out my toes. I plan on sitting here and finishing the beach scene tonight. Then hopefully if my power doesn't go out, I'll finish the whole book tomorrow. But unfortunately I live in the country and if the ice builds on the power lines, well you know what happens, they snap. Then I'll be down for the count. But I have plenty of pens and paper :) I'll go back to the old way of writing. The snow is falling heavily now as the darkness takes over. It looks like diamonds falling from the sky. The ice crystals gleam in our outside spot lights. It's simply gorgeous. But since my driveway is uphill, we'll have to get out the 4x4 if we go anywhere out of four wheeler range. Hope everyone is staying safe in the cold weather that's descended from Canada. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

2nd Cup Monday...Maybe 3rd Cup

It's Monday if you haven't figured it out. When my alarm went off at six this morning I groaned wanting it to be Saturday again. I sat up way too late reading last night and man I feel it this morning. Working toward my 3rd cup of coffee. As for this morning's post here goes. I have several manuscripts in the works as always. I put in several hours on these this past weekend. I'm so excited about the manuscript that will be entered in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. My book "A Love Never Lost" made it through to the 2nd round last year which was a huge accomplishment for this writer. I just have to finish this one up and get it entered. Have you ever edited 3/4 of the way through a manuscript. I was typing this weekend and had a AH HA moment. Suddenly it became clear which direction the last part of the book would go. Of course I know the ending, but the part a couple of chapters from the end had been bugging me. I went back and did a editing read, which helped to confirm the change that would take place. It's funny how your characters truly speak to you. This morning I'm going to give it a couple hundred words before I shower and head to my office. I've set up a work schedule that allows time to have a few minutes here and there to get in a few words. Since this is the start of my busy season I want to get as much done on my WIP as possible. Deadlines also drive this need for time slots that allow me to write. Have you scheduled your day to include some writing? This actually helps me to destress during the day with a little time away from numbers and clients. It's amazing how calming my writing can be. It's a time that I look forward to every day. So make sure that you plan a little time every day to write and get lost if only for a section of time. As always, Good Writing and May God Bless You...

Cleaning Up A Mess...

Have you ever started an edit on your manuscript and wondered what happened? It's the weirdest thing when you're writing it sounds good and then you start to edit and wonder who wrote it. You know it's happened to you before. I sometimes think that maybe I write in my sleep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it... I was working on one of my WIP and got a little sidetracked, well maybe a lot sidetracked. I couldn't seem to keep the story in my head. So, I decided to do a read through. I reached a section that I know I wrote several nights ago and I was really tired that night. Well, it was going well and all of a sudden it was like, What? I laughed out loud at my own mistakes. Several words were not even recognizable and some of the sentences were just plain out horrible. They didn't make sense and a couple of times I just drifted off into lala land. Well, to say the least, I spent a lot of time rewriting and I'm glad I did. While cleaning up the mess I made I actually had a ah ha moment and changed a whole scene in the middle of the book. It flows so much better and I'm happy with it. It makes the ending seem so much clearer. Funny how our clean up edits can bring about a whole new outlook on a story. So, as I sit here writing this cold Saturday morning, I hope all of you are writing or doing something you enjoy. It's Saturday. Give yourself a break and enjoy yourself. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Burr...Let's Talk Romance...

Well it's cold here in Georgia. Actually cold doesn't even begin to describe how it feels outside. I've set up my office in my den for the day. It's just way too cold in my office, so when you get lemons you make lemonade, but here it would be a frozen lemonade. Think summer :) So, let's talk romance and try to get warm. The last couple of nights I've had my nose in my kindle reading. Some days I just want to read and not write. Of course this could be called research or practice. With sports figures they work out daily, but a writer needs to read daily. For me reading helps keep my mind working correctly. As you know I write romance, so I read a lot of romance. It's like a inspirational time for me. As I read I think, yeah, I like the way this writer does this, or I think about what I didn't like in the book and I try to avoid it in my own work. As the temps continue to be below freezing I curl up in front of the fire with a romance to keep me warm. Currently I'm reading a Vampire series and it's been pretty good so far. I love how the writer handles every situation. I've been so into the books that I don't even realize I'm chilly. But I've got to put the Kindle down and get back into my manuscripts in progress. Especially the one that's going in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. It's in the final stages and I'm really excited about it. It's a step away from my normal style writing, so I'm anxious to see how it's received. So, if you're cold, pick up a romance and let the warmth spread through you. When you read about love it just has a warming affect on you. Go ahead and try it. If you need some good choices then go over to avonromance.com. They've got a great selection of romances to warm your heart and your toes. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Changing Up...

Before I published my first book I did a lot of investigating. The general comment that I saw from several well known writers was to keep writing. They said that the more you write the better your craft and the better the sales. Well, I wondered how this would pan out for my future career as a writer. Now that I'm coming up on my two year publishing anniversary I can say that this is a fact. It's funny that when I read my first published book I shake my head. I'm in the process of revising a couple of my first books. I've learned so much about the process and writing in the last two years. I changed a lot of how the process goes. Also, I've slowed down a bit. Of course that could be age, but let's get past that point. I've seen a huge difference in sales. The first 6 months after publishing my first book my sales were minimal. Every month after that I've seen a upswing. I've also learned to put a decent price on my work. Even though you might sell less in numbers, the end result if a larger profit. As for my covers I've stepped up the game. Now I put more effort in making each new cover pack a punch. I want them to stand out in the enormous crowd of other newly published books. I study other covers that I see and what the current trends are. I get a lot of response on my covers which makes me smile. One thing I've learned from multiple published books, I've added more descriptions. I've added more insight into the characters and more information on the surroundings. Some of this comes from fans writing to me. They tell me that my earlier books were good, but they wanted more from the characters. I've listened to the readers and now I write further detail into every book. Patience has been a hard thing for me to have in my writing. When you can see the end and your excited, sometimes you press it too quickly and lose the middle structure. My publishing process has become very detailed. I've slowed that process too. Now I do a little more marketing than before. As you've noticed in my blogs I'm working on several manuscripts that have been in the works for a while. I also have a couple of surprises coming up, but that's for another blog down the road. As always, good writing, and May God Bless You...

When Writing A Death Scene...

I've been working on a piece that includes death scene. I'm not talking about a shooting or stabbing death, but a death caused by cancer. Death scenes can be tricky, especially in these circumstances. If you're having a character killed off you just have them shot or stabbed and there's a moment of dying then that's it. But in this instance the character is in a hospital spending her last moments with her loving husband. Yeah, I cried all the way through writing the scene which took several days. It was mentally and physically draining. The scene spanned a chapter or two as this was a pivotal point of the story line. It sets the scenarios for the rest of the book. And no it's not a tear jerker all the way through. It's a really sweet romance from start to finish. The main character is just such an amazing man. He's so full of Faith, family and love that you can't help but fall in love with him. I've cried with him, laughed with him and now it's at another pivotal life changing event and I've just sat and sighed with him. Let's just say it's going to pull you up in your seat. In a death scene such as this, you have to be careful. I wanted the death scene to flow easily but not too quickly. The emotions and the last words are pivotal in the mechanics of the main characters decisions later on. Yes, I even put some romance in the death scene which is hard to do, but with these two it's easy. Their love was immense and totally empowering. It's also a little eye opening for my own life. I've lost so many family and friends to cancer so it was a little sad. It also made me think of my own immortality. How would I handle my last minutes on earth? Could I be as brave as Rachel? Would I be a complete mess? How would I handle my last moments with my child and my husband? It's something to think about. I spent a little time digging into my own heart. It was a reality check for sure. As always, good writing and May God Bless you...

Time Travel - Something new...

As I work on my latest manuscript I have to sigh. Have you ever gotten so lost in your work that you react to every detail? This has been such a step away from my normal writing, but I'm really enjoying it. I have some surprises in store for the readers with this one. And yes before you ask, there are horses and a handsome cowboy. I mean it's me writing it. I've based this story in one of my favorite cities, Savannah. It's so rich with history and beautiful places. I love history. That was my favorite subject in school beside literature. I wonder why I like literature... I thought I'd give you a little sneak peak of "Finding The Right Time" and as it happens, this books will not be coming out for a little while. I made a huge decision Saturday to enter this manuscript in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. Last year I entered "A Love Never Lost" and it made it through to the 2nd round which was exciting. Fingers crossed and hopes abound. Well, here's a little bit: Rafe walked around in front of her and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance?” “I don’t know how to dance to this, but if you’ll lead.” She smiled up into his handsome face which was full of mischief. “I’ll lead you anywhere my dear.” He said as he pulled her in amongst the other couples waltzing around the makeshift dance floor. Which actually was just a marked off area of the dirt road. She grabbed his hand and he gently placed his other on her waist. “You smell wonderful.” He put his nose to her hair as he pulled her closer. “It’s lavender from your grandmother.” She smiled. It was heavenly dancing close to Rafe. His muscular chest was under her cheek. Every movement caused his muscles to ripple. “This feels right holding you in my arms. Thank you for staying tonight.” He kissed the side of her head as he held her close. He didn’t care what anyone thought at that moment. All he could think of was holding her for possibly the last time. Could his heart take it if she decided not to come back? She closed her eyes and almost forgot where she was. Suddenly someone started to sing an old Irish sounding tune. She smiled up at Rafe as he didn’t stop moving to the music. Neither was aware of the whispering among the town. They were mesmerized by the couple in the middle of the dance floor. Brody sat down beside Mrs. Emma and put his arm around her. “Gran, I do think our boy has finally given his heart.” “As do I Brody. She’s a wonderful girl. I do hope she’ll make the right decision and stay with us.” Her voice quivered with worry. She’d seen the uncertainty earlier in Lily’s eyes. She knew that feeling only too well. She’d made the right decision for herself, but what was Lily’s? “Do you think she’ll leave again?” He watched the couple and had his doubts. He saw the love in their eyes and it was mutual. “I hope tonight will give her reason to stay.” She watched the couple. Then she looked around and everyone there was watching them and smiling. Everyone could see it, but would Lily? She just prayed it would become crystal clear tonight. After five songs Rafe pulled Lily off to the side. “Let’s get some air.” She followed as he led her to the edge of town away from the buzzing crowd. When they were out of sight of everyone, he turned and pulled her into his arms. His lips were suddenly on hers and she was lost. He pulled her close to his body. He’d held his emotions all evening, but he was about to snap. It was as though she was his water and he was thirsty. He drank of her as though he’d been without for years. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him into the kiss. As she deepened the kiss he groaned. This felt so right to her, but could she leave everything. For tonight she’d be his. He ran his hands up and down her back. It was as though he couldn’t get her close enough. When he finally released her it was only to pull her between two of the buildings. He pressed her against the side of the building and kissed her passionately. Their breathing was ragged as passion took over their bodies. He knew he needed to stop but he couldn’t seem to muster up the strength to let her go, not yet. He wanted her badly and the knowledge that this could be their last time together was almost his undoing. She was the first to push at his chest. If they went any further she’d never be able to make a clear decision. This was so hard to not just give in to her desires. She knew it’d be so easy. He leaned his head against hers as he tried to control his breathing. “Lily please forgive me. I don’t know what came over me.” “There’s nothing to forgive. I wanted you too, I still do, but this will not help my decision.” She pulled away from his embrace and leaned against the wall. He put his hand on her shoulder. “If you want me as badly as I do you, then the decision is made.” He looked down at her face. It was hard to see her expression in the darkness. He knew his want was from mostly love and what he knew was also lust. “It’s not that easy Rafe. I don’t want to make a decision based on passion. That’s not love. I want my decision to be true to my heart, not my body. Can you understand that?” She turned to look up into his face. “I’ll have to understand it. I just want you to be my wife.” He ran his fingers through his hair in heated frustration. He could use another dip in the cool stream behind the house. He’d had several of those since Lily had come into his life. That’s where he’d been the night she’d seen him from her window. She realized he’d just laid his heart on the line. “Oh Rafe, you’re such a wonderful man. Please give me until the morning.” She laid her hand on his heart and it was beating wildly. He reached up and covered it with his large hand. “I am a man of my word. I’ll give you until the morning, but I will tell you this. If you decide to stay, I want us to be married as soon as possible.” His voice was stilled ragged with passion. “If I decide to stay we will be married before the next setting sun.” She reached up and grasped his face, pulling it down to hers. It was the most passionate, sweet, heart wrenching kiss. It touched her soul in a way she’d never expected. Rafe touched her soul, but was it enough? I know that was more than a bit, but I just love this part. It's going to be hard holding back on the publishing of this one. Hopefully I can restrain myself. I have to make my final decision before February 16th. If I get an offer for it before then, I'll jump but keep your fingers crossed. This book will be a game changer for me. As always, good writing and May God Bless you...

Cold Hands, Warm Heart...

Good Monday morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend filled with joy and lots of writing. Of course today is a school holiday so I got to sleep in. That's always a plus. As I sat down in my office I was met with a really cold chair and desk. My fingers are struggling with this post due to the cold. It was a little warmer on Friday when I left, so I didn't set the heater to come on as much over the weekend. That's what I get for not looking ahead at the forecast. It's freezing this morning. Have you ever heard the old saying, "Cold Hands, Warm Heart". That's me this morning for sure. I always have cold hands. Since I'm a hopeless romantic I guess you could say I always have a warm heart. When I love I do it with my whole heart. I don't love half heartedly. It's just not in my makeup. Maybe this is why I'm drawn to writing about love. I love every aspect of it. It mesmerizes me and draws me into it's depths until I'm lost in it's beauty. Now don't get me wrong. Love can be a tedious thing, like walking on a tight rope over a deep canyon. As you know, I'm afraid of heights so I try to keep off the tight rope as much as possible. I've had so many readers ask me if my writing comes from life experiences and I usually laugh. A writer never fully reveals the secrets behind their craft. I will tell you this, I've loved and lost, but in the end I've loved for eternity. There it is, a writer's answer. We love to write in riddles, never really giving it all away. When I was a teenager I looked for Prince Charming. He'd come up on his white horse, of course, and he'd have on a crisp white Stetson with a winning smile. You know the type, the one that's only in your mind. Oh yeah, I had it bad. I'd read one too many romance novels, if that's possible. Sometimes it can be dangerous for a girl coming of age. She looks for that one special man. Poor boys, I left several along the road side wondering what they'd done wrong. Hey, I didn't leave them literally by the roadside, but you get what I'm saying. One reader asked if I had a cowboy in my past, well I'm from the country and that's a resounding yes. You can't throw a stone without hitting at least one cowboy or country boy. As a writer you have to pull from things that are familiar but then you have to make them stand out and interesting. So, do you have a warm heart? Do you pull from your past experiences when writing? As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Friday and Romancing the Coffee

Good Morning! It's Friday people. It's the last day of the work week for most, but for an author that works a full time job it's the start of the long work weekend. I work everyday on my manuscripts. Some days not as long as others and especially at this time of year. I have deadlines all around me. There's W-2's to finish, end of the year balancing, 1099's, Tax return prep, manuscripts that are being finalized, covers to design, editing to do, VBS pre season prep, and dare I go on, on my! As I sit here nursing my second cup of coffee, I contemplate my morning. I have a hour or so of social media, blogging, and a little editing before I go to the office. It's funny the life of a writer. I sit down at my computer and my fingers automatically go to the keyboard ready to write. It's just natural for me to put my thoughts in writing. Do you use your morning effectively? The morning hours are very productive for me. It's the mid day that I sometimes get a little foggy, but then as I sit down after dinner I get creative again. Generally I'm not a morning person, but after about two cups of coffee I start to wake up and get inspired. This morning I have a crackling fire going and a sweet little bird on the banister outside the window watching me. Of course he probably thinks my head is a nest as I've yet to run a brush through my hair or even get dressed for that matter. This is "Me" time. The sun is spreading across the front lawn and the world is starting to come alive. As you know, I love romance and in the mornings I love to write a little and feel the power behind romance. Have you ever felt it? If you're a romance writer or reader for that matter, you've felt that power. It draws you in and refreshes your faith in life. Yeah, I'm a romance advocate. I had a reader tell me the other day that they don't believe in romance, well they received a long talk about the possibilites of romance. Needless to say they laughed and said they'd give it another try. But they have read all my books. That's a start. Well I'm almost done with my Friday morning rambling, but I must leave you with this question. Do you believe in romance? It's a simple question. I'm curious about your responses. With romance being the best selling genre in books, I'm pretty sure at least more then 50% of you do. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...Image

3 Ways Indie Authors Can Improve Self Publishing

As you know I'm a self published author. When I decided to publish my manuscripts I studied the market. I'm an Accountant and I have a strong analytical background so that pushed me to make a study into this. I looked into both the traditional market and the self publishing market. One thing I realized was that more and more traditionally published authors are going to the self publishing market. But let me tell you this, in order to do it right you've got to keep up the traditional publishing standards strictly enforced. Here are 3 of the ways Authors can improve Self Publishing: 1: Editing: This is a very important part of publishing and this is where several self published authors fail at. It's also part of why some people will not pick up a self published book because they've been burned before. You've got to read your manuscript and read it again. Also you need to either get Beta Readers or someone that will be critical and unbiased to read your work. When you read your manuscript pull yourself away. Read it as though you're a reader and are you inspired to read it again. If it falls flat, then how can you expect anyone else to get into. Have you corrected all the spelling errors, grammatical errors, and just plain out story line disasters? 2: Covers: I can't stress this enough. Covers can sell even a badly written book. This is the first thing that a reader sees. This is the first line of selling rank. If you don't spend money on anything else, please spend a little on this. There are so many talented cover designers out there. I've been so fortunate to have a awesome cover designer. I've seen some really cool covers and then some really horrible attempts. Your cover needs to tell something about what's inside. It need to pull the reader in. I've purchased so many books just from the cover. 3: Book Blurbs: I stress about this with all my books. This is the hardest part of writing to me, no kidding. Make sure you don't give away too much in the blurb. Too many authors tell the story on the back of the book. This is not good. Be very descriptive and use complimentary words that will draw in the reader. I've done a study on this with my very own books. I put out a blurb on a couple of my books that I was somewhat happy with, but I noticed a lag in sales. Then I sat down and poured over the blurbs changing some of the key words and adding some small elements. This helped the sales dramatically. Try it and see if your sales go up. It's hard to be an author, period! When I say I'm an author, people come back with yeah, I could write a book. Well, yeah, anyone can write a book, but can they write a book that will go anywhere? Do they have the drive to publish that book and do all the marketing? Being an author is not as easy as it looks and being self published is brutal at times. But let me tell you the rewards far outweigh the difficulties. The first time a fan comes up to you at the grocery store and says, "Oh my goodness you're that author." The first time this happened to me I was so embarassed and excited at the same time. When you get emails from fans excited about your work it makes you smile all day. I've gained so many new friends from all over the world that some days I'm just amazed. Yes it's a lot of work, but it's so worth it. Have I thought about traditionally publishing? Yes. I sent Ghost Lover to a traditional publisher and never heard a word. Then I decided to self publish it and it was all uphill from there. It was my introduction into the publishing world and the response to that book has been really great. I've had a couple of big publishers call me about coming on board with them, but they couldn't offer my anything different from what I do now, so not now. I do have a work in progress at the moment that it's been in my heart to send to a publisher that I contribute to as a blogger. We'll see how that goes. So, my advice to you is to go for it, but be prepared to do it right. This is your name you're putting out there, so make it shine. If you need any help with it, I'm in partnership with my editor/cover designer in a publishing service, Horseshoe Publishing. We'll help you iron out those wrinkles and make your work shine like a new penny. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Romance A La Carte...

First off, this is my 100th post on this site. Yeah! Now to the 100th post. Enjoy! I've noticed some changes in romance since I was a teenager. There's many different categories to choose from and it get's more advanced with each year. When I was a teenager and new to romance novels, (No I will not say how long ago that was) let's just say it was a while ago, anyway, romance novels were pretty much categorized as romance, heated romance, historical romance and I do remember romance mystery. Today when you go to a site to order a romance novel the choices will astound you. Well it does me. How do you choose? Well, it's like sitting at a restaurant and looking at a menu. You go in knowing you want steak, but do you want a baked potato or fries? Do you want that baked potato covered and smothered or just lite butter and sour cream. Then you have to figure out how you want the steak. Will it be rare or well done? Oh let's don't forget the salad. Do you want a salad? Do you want dressing on the salad or on the side? Croutons anyone? It's the same with choosing what type of romance you want. I have the hardest time categorizing my romance novels. Someone asked me one day how I choose the categories that I put on my books. Well, it's not easy. I have the generic solutions in my head like Romance, Contemporary Romance, and Historical Romance, but if you do the math, they're used way too much. Funny huh... Do your homework? I usually go to Amazon and start with the most generic search of Romance. Do it, you'll be amazed how many there are to choose from. That's where the A La Carte sub categories come in handy. Look at your book. No I mean really look at your book. What makes it different? Does it have mystery? Don't just stop at Romantic Mystery, go one step further. Is it a Romantic Thriller Mystery, a Romantic Murder Mystery, or just simply a Romantic Mystery, but do look up that category and see how many other authors labeled their books that way. It makes a difference. Romance has come a long way over the years. Let's don't even get into the many Erotic labels out there, I'll blush, no really I will. I did my search of these also as I do have a publishing service so it's an important piece of my work. I've started actually making a list of possible categories as I write my books. Maybe it's a pivotal point in the main part of the story that inspires the category. Since I write mostly Cowboy Romance, try searching that one, yeah it's huge. I have to see what makes my Cowboy Romance books different from others. Well, maybe put Sweet in front of it, or Clean. But search it first. When I put Western in front of my category it worked well for a while, but guess what, others did that too and now I need to rethink my categories, maybe tweek a couple of them. So, check your A La Carte menu, which for us writers is our categorization of our work. Make it appealing to the eyes. Make it stand out amongest all the others, but don't choose an out there label that only you understand. Give your book it's best chance to be seen in this world of way too many choices. It makes a difference, believe me, I've played with this and it made the sales either go up or down. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Monday Morning Writing

Well it's Monday again! Were you ready for it? Me, well not so much, but it's a fact that it comes every week. Some Mondays I do better than others. This morning is cloudy and dreary yet again and I'm sleepy, but work beckons and it's the start of my busy season. The reason for my grogy ramblings is I sat up way too late last night writing. I guess you could say it's a writers lot to be sleepy and have blood shot eyes on Monday morning. I couldn't pull myself away from the current WIP. It's funny how a story gets under your skin and you just have to get past a certain point before you pull away. I know other writers know this feeling. You know the point where you can stop but until you get to that point you don't have the courage to stop. Does this sound obsessive, well maybe so? Writers are often carried away into obsession and that's what makes a good writer. Someone once asked me where all my stories come from. They often laugh and say that I must lead a very colorful life to bring about so many stories with vibrancy and life. I live my life just as anyone, well I guess that's true. A writer's mind goes beyond that of someone that doesn't have writing in them. I can look at the simplest object and spin a story around it. A writer's mind is constantly working on over load. Sometimes I think my mind actually spins around like a top. As for the unfinished manuscript I found the other day, well I've been spinning this one in my head, but I've put it to the wayside. I remember somewhat the path I was headed in with it, but it just doesn't feel right at the moment. For me, and I've talked to other writers about this, if the story is not with you, it's best to put it down and come back a little later. Unfortunately that happens in series too. You finish book one or two and when you start the next part and it totally goes out of the realm. So, how's your Monday going? As for me I'd love to get some love over at Twitter or Facebook. Come by and follow me on either one. I'm trying to get over the Twitter hump per say. Also, I'd love to have some likes or follows on Facebook. Let's put our heads together and have a follow Monday. Here's my links: Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/StephaniePayneHurt?ref=hl Facebook personal page: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.hurt.330 Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephanieHurt4 As always, good writing and May God Bless you...

Yes, I talk to Myself, Don't you?

As a child I was always taught that you didn't talk to yourself because someone would think you were weird. Umm, well, I guess that philosophy was lost on me. My son told me the other day that he was looking for homes to put me in. As I tried to explain to him when he caught me arguing with myself, yes I know, that's a little overboard, but I'm a writer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :) Sometimes when I'm writing and trying to work out a story line I say it out loud. The only problem with that is I most of the time write while in the room with my husband and son. I catch myself hashing out an argument with my characters and I start arguing out loud. Then I realize that I'm not alone. I usually turn to see my son and hubby looking at me like I've completely lost it. I just grin and start excitedly telling them what the argument was all about and that's when they roll their eyes and wave me off. They don't get into romance. Now if I wrote a romance about a fisherman or hunter maybe, but not my kind. Now you can't say you haven't fussed at your computer out loud, or hashed out a story out loud. It's just easier for me to read a part of the story out loud. It makes it sound different than in my head. I guess it's like I filter it when I silently read, I don't know. I do try to hold back when I'm in the general public. Although sometimes when I'm somewhere and a story hits me I'll laugh out and say something like, "Ooh that'd make a great one" or "Yikes I shouldn't have killed her off." Yeah, that last line really clears an aisle at the grocery store. Could this be why most writers are loners? What's bad is when I'm talking to myself and then start answering myself? My son has started just turning and leaving me alone with myself. I was so lost in a story line the other day that I didn't even realize I was actually doing a crazy giggling sound and some sort of clicking of my tongue. My son finally tapped me and asked if I needed medication. I just waved him away after giving him a look. So, do you talk to yourself? Come on you know you do. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Getting To Know Your Characters...

It's funny how asa writer I become close to the characters in my books. I know they're fictional people but when they're in your head all the time they become real to you. I guess that's what helps us as writers. They have to be real in order to tell their story. Sometimes I get so into a story I'm working on that I feel like they're not fictional. I'd really like to meet some of my characters. They would be fun to talk to and meet up with for lunch. Some of them I'd like to get to pop up side the head, but I guess that goes with the territory. I'm currently working on the 2nd installment of The Winner Series. I love this story line. It's a little reality mixed with fantasy. Who doesn't want to win a trip with a handsome movie star? Then to get to spend the trip in a romantic snow covered chalet. It does sound like a great thing to do. I sat last night getting in three chapters and almost 2000 words. It may not sound like much, but I kept having to go back to the 1st installment to get facts straight. Actually to tell the truth as I was looking up a part that would be mentioned I got lost in reading the 1st book. My son looked at me and I know he was wondering why I was reading my own book. If you can't enjoy reading your own work then how can you expect anyone else to. So my advice is this, make sure you know your characters. You need to know who they are, what color their hair is, their eyes, their likes and dislikes. It's like a bio for them that you need to think of. Ask yourself questions and interview your character. If you know more about them then their story will unfold and you'll fall in love with them. Have you ever seen a live person somewhere and thought they looked like what you see in your character? I have done this so many times. It's actually fun when you do this. All of my characters can be seen in my head. If only we had a program that could read our thoughts on our characters. Then we could put their picture on the cover. I think that's what makes designing the covers so hard. I have a idea in my head of what they look like and I won't settle for anything less. I drive my cover designer crazy... As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Do You Know How It Will End?

When I sit down to start a new story, most of the time I have an idea of how it will end. Sometimes I can see the whole story and other times it comes to me as the story unfolds. It's funny how a story comes to you suddenly and you just have to sit down and sketch it out. I love it when the whole story comes into my head, but then sometimes that makes it difficult because you rush to the ending and leave out the filler. The filler is the heart of the story in most cases. It's the descriptions, the character building, and the ins and outs of the story that make it build to the last page. Have you ever knew how it ended, but not the filler? I have done this so many times. I know how it starts and I know how it ends, but not the filler. But the filler will come. But what happens when you don't know how it will end? I have written what I thought were stand alone books and then when I neared the end I couldn't end it there. I had to continue the story. Sometimes it's the end that is far away in my mind which causes a series to be born. I can see many angles of the first story or bringing out the side characters in a story of their own. So we as writers don't always know how it will end. I have so many people ask me how many books are going to be in a certain series and I really can't tell them. They always ask why. Well it's usually not something that comes readily. If the story is compelling enough it could go on for several books, or if I see the story starting to wane, then I put a The End on it. The story decides how it ends and sometimes I just don't know how it will end or when. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Editing, a writer's worst nightmare...

Editing is a process not to be taken lightly. Sometimes I look forward to this process because that means the manuscripts is almost done, but other times I dread it like a shot in the arm. But it's a process that if you don't do it you'll regret it, believe me. I talked with a fellow Indie author one day about editing. She said the only thing she does is run spell check and grammar check. I was horrified. Can anyone say "Oh my goodness"? That's what I said and then I sat down with her and we had a long talk. I then picked up her finished manuscript and when I was finished reading it there was more red than black. She was shocked and mortified. She now goes through a detailed editing process. When I finish a manuscript I always step back for a day or two before I even start editing. That way I'm not too excited to do what I need to do. When I start I always run the spell and grammar checks just to get rid of those pesky extra spaces, oopsy words (you know the ones) and the bad grammar that always follows a wild writing marathon. This helps to make the editing process go a little smoother, but only a little. Then comes the fun part, I sit down and read the manuscript. Have you ever read over your finished manuscript and wondered at what point you lost your whole brain? Well I have. The things I've done while writing amaze me. I know I took english and writing in college, but sometimes when I read my own writing I laugh out loud. Where the heck did that come from? Surely I didn't write that sentence. Have you ever changed a characters name mid book? Come on, don't be shy. Well, I'll admit to doing that on a couple of occasions. I was reading a manuscript the other day and a minor character went from Betty to Betsy. I had to read the chapter over again to make sure I hadn't fired the housekeeper in the previous chapter. But alas, no, she should have stayed Betty. Easy fix, not hardly, but it was taken care of by the nice little editing tool called "FIND". Now as you are the writer, do make sure that someone other than your closest friend reads it too. My editor is my niece, but let me tell you she can be strict. I have been working and felt someone boring a hole in my head. She'd be staring at me like I'd grown two heads. Then she'd point out something totally off the wall that I typed. She has asked me several times if I was drinking something stronger than hot tea as I was writing. Let me give you some honest advice from someone who learned this the hard way. If you don't want to spend the money for a professional editor then please find several people who will be brutally honest and let them read it. You can't do it yourself. It's your baby and you don't want to change a thing. Believe me, nobody writes a perfect manuscript from the get go, NOBODY! I was reading a NYT bestselling book the other night and I felt pretty good with some of my errors. There in black and white was some really big goofs that had not been caught. It happens people, so get over it and try to do better. As always, good writing and May God Bless You... Photo above provided by Photopin/Flickr

Monday Morning Writing

It's Monday morning and the kids should be going back to school today, but due to the extremely cold weather and threat of snow they will not be going back until Wednesday. I've moved my office into my dining room since it's so cold. My office is hard to heat sometimes so it's just easier to work where it's warm. I do hope all my US friends are staying warm and safe in this cold and snow snap. We didn't get any snow here south of Atlanta, but North Georgia got a little bit. It's just cold and windy. As for my writing I'm first working on balancing some year end accounts and then back to the writing. I hope to have Finding the Right Time completed with the second edit tonight. The 2nd installment in three of my series are well on their way, but the holidays got in the way. Now that it's somewhat back to normal I hope to get in some quality writing time. I sat last night with my hands poised over the keys but nothing came through my fingers. Writer's block is not a fun thing when you have some time to write and nothing comes through. Of course this morning my mind is on overload with stories, but alas my accounting work needs to be done first. It does help pay the bills and as many writers know, the writing doesn't do that in most cases. I'm playing with the idea of sending Finding The Right Time to a publisher, but still not sure. I've always self published and noticed many big writers are going back to self publishing. It just makes me wonder if that's the right course. I'll have to do a list of pros and cons. Oh well, this isn't getting this account balanced. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have power and can post an update on Finding The Right Time. If you get a chance go over to Amazon and check out my writer friend from Georgia, V. Steele. She'd just released the 2nd book in her My Prodigy Trilogy. I usually don't read this kind of romance, well I do read vampire books, but hers are a little racey but well written. She just laughs at me. I guess I love her work because she uses my publishing company for editing and covers. My brilliant and talented cover designer has outdone herself lately with V's covers and the one for Finding The Right Time. As always, good writing and May God Bless You...

Forgetten Work!

Well as you noticed in yesterdays post I've been cleaning my office, which is a rather large job. As I was cleaning out some file boxes I ran up on an rather large notebook. When I opened it I found a spiral bound notebook inside. I pulled it out and was going to put it in the office supply pile, which was growing rapidly. I have a bad habit of losing office supplies only to be found later when I open a clients file and there it is. I drive my assistant crazy :) On with what I found. I decided to open the notebook to make sure it had paper left in it. Well to my surprise I had started a story inside this hidden notebook. For a moment I just stared at it wondering when I'd started this hidden story. Since I was in a cleaning mode I put it to the side to check out later. My eyes kept straying to the notebook on the corner of my desk. I carried the notebook in my house and opened it like a child opening a Christmas present. I was so excited because truly I did not remember this story. As I read the first couple of paragraphs I was taken back about five years. This was a story that came to me suddenly in a dream. Of course I was so excited when I finished reading. It was actually about twenty pages of writing. The story started to come into focus and well as any writer would do I started getting excited. It's funny how these things happen. I know what you're thinking and yes I will be finishing my works in progress. I had strength and put the notebook beside my chair. I know this story has a ending in my mind, but I've promised my wonderful fans that I will be finishing the 2nd books in three of my series. I do have deadlines to follow, but boy this story has taken a toll of my brain. So I will reveal a bit of it really soon, but for now I'll finish up my works in progress. But who knows, maybe I can multi task. No, promise I'll be a good little writer and finish what I've started ;) As always, great writing and May God Bless You...

Time to recharge for new year!

Ok, the holidays are over so it's time to buckle down. As an Accountant it's time to close out the year on all my clients, do W-2's and 1099"s. Not to mention the start of Tax Season... But as a writer it's time to buckle down and get out more manuscripts, clean out my work to be done file (It's rather large :) ) and get all my writing expenses together. You may be saying oh nooooo... But if you have a method of doing this it helps. I'm here to help. The first thing you need to do is sit down at your work area and declutter. Clutter clouds the mind, or so they say. Funny thing is I know my clutter well and can tell you where anything and everything is in my clutter. Ok, once the clutter is somewhat organized make sure all your invoices, papers and such are filed in their correct files. This makes tax time so much easier. What if you didn't print all your invoices off your email, well now's time to declutter your email. I always forget to print those pesky things off email, because once they get to the bottom of the list they're forgotten. So, print all your invoices and remove them from the email. It will make your system run smoother too... I like to sit down and get all my royalty reports off the many sites I'm on. This takes a moment, but well worth it. You need to know what you can expect in 1099's. Yes, people, royalties are considered income. I've been asked this question multiple times, but writing is a business, so run it as such. Then sit down and separate all your miscellaneous files such as donations, medical, and office expenses. So many people miss out on tax deductions because they just simply don't want to take the time to get the paperwork out, but I consider it money in my pocket and who doesn't like that. Just plan an afternoon in front of the fire sorting paperwork. That's how I do my own paperwork. I can spread out and have multiple piles. Don't forget any equipment you might have purchased during 2013. Did you get a new laptop, printer, keyboard, mouse, well you know where I'm going with that. Also subscriptions, yep that subscription to the writers magazine is deductible to a writer :) Then of course you have royalties paid to photo sites, yep bet you forgot about those didn't you? Then you have all those little expenses that we often forget such as postage, advertising, long distance calls to editors, agents or such as that. Don't forget any programs you bought that help your writing. They can be costly and are deductible. These are just a couple of things. Once you've cleaned out those packed files or drawers, start the new year off right by setting up a filing system and keep it straight. When you pay bills, or order something online, print that invoice right then and file it, deleting the email. This helps next January be a little less stressful. I do hope everyone had a great 2013 and look forward to a blessed 2014. As always, great writing and May God Bless You...