If your story falls apart, use duct tape?

Duct tape is a house staple, just as salt, sugar and flour are food staples. For many years people have fixed almost everything with duct tape. At Church we even fixed a broken Christmas tree with duct tape, no really we did. It’s strong and durable. Also you can get it in any width and color so it’s versatile. What if you’re story is falling apart? We all have those manuscripts that start out really good and we have a phenomenal ending planned, but the middle has so many holes and fractures that it puts a real stink on the beginning and ending. Well, put a little duct tape on it. What am I talking about? Well, here goes the answer in a nutshell. By duct tape I mean sit down with your beginning and ending. Then really look at it. Where is the character headed? The middle needs some suspense or issue that needs to carry the reader over the hump to the end. It needs something that only the ending can shed some light on. This is where the duct tape comes in. As I said above, duct tape is strong and durable with lots of versatility, so the middle of the book needs to be taped up neatly. But be careful not to just add fluffy filler that makes the reader fall asleep with boredom. If the first of the book is power packed, then make the middle explode with tension. This is the strong duct tape. Add an element of complete surprise. Let the main character have a major problem that needs solving, or maybe a secret that is threatening to come out, but the secret has to be life altering. But make sure that it can mesh with your great ending. I did this one time and a book that started out being only around 30,000 words went over 50,000 words with a little duct tape application. Crazy, but true. I had this really great beginning that pulled you in and the ending left you breathless, but the middle was just a bunch of fluff. As I did my first read through I was almost dozing and that’s not good. I sat down and spread out the beginning and ending, then totally restructured my characters. I added a whole new dimension to them that took them on an adventure that meshed well with the ending and soon I had a complete story that I was proud to hit the publish button on. So, get you some duct tape and pull that story together. If you use the right duct tape it will hold together nicely. As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Her Wish For Christmas... Pre Order up

Good Wednesday morning to everyone! It's a beautiful, chilly morning here in Georgia. I just love the crisp air that Fall offers. It's so invigorating and refreshes my soul. I begin to get more itchy to write which is scary because some days I could write for 24 hours a day. Yikes, that sounds a little obsessive, but if you're a writer you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm currently working on Her Wish for Christmas, the 3rd book in my Lean on Him Christian Romance Series. This book has torn at my heart and brought me to tears several times. I thought book 2 in the series, Faith Through the Tears was bad on my nerves, well this one has totally cleared out my tear ducts. Actually had a fan recommend sending out a box of tissues with each copy sold. Good Wednesday morning to everyone! It's a beautiful, chilly morning here in Georgia. I just love the crisp air that Fall offers. It's so invigorating and refreshes my soul. I begin to get more itchy to write which is scary because some days I could write for 24 hours a day. Yikes, that sounds a little obsessive, but if you're a writer you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm currently working on Her Wish for Christmas, the 3rd book in my Lean on Him Christian Romance Series. This book has torn at my heart and brought me to tears several times. I thought book 2 in the series, Faith Through the Tears was bad on my nerves, well this one has totally cleared out my tear ducts. Actually had a fan recommend sending out a box of tissues with each copy sold. If you're wondering why it brings me to tears, well it's a book about a problem that plagues this nation and it's something that just affects me so deeply. But it's the reactions of the characters that totally takes me by surprise. If you're not a writer, the last statement might seem strange, but sometimes as writer's we're surprised by how the characters take over. Also, for this book, it's on pre order through Amazon until the release date of November 14th at http://www.amazon.com/Her-Wish-Christmas-Lean-Book-ebook/dp/B00OJI0BN0. I'm donating 50% of my royalties from all the pre order sales and first week after release sales to a domestic violence charity. I want to help out with making a difference. This is such a problem and it breaks my heart that so many feel they have nowhere to turn. The first couple of days the pre order was out it was in the top 100 on Amazon which is exciting. I'm so touched by the response to this book and can't wait for it to be up and running. Since the book is almost completely through the editing process I'm crossing my fingers that maybe this book can inspire someone to speak out and get help. As always, great writing and May God Bless You...

Safe in the Pirate's Arms by Stephanie Hurt - Author/Accountant/Children's Minister

Safe in the Pirate's Arms by Stephanie Hurt - Author/Accountant/Children's Minister

Authors are like bees!

Authors are like bees! Ok, I know you’re saying, now where is she going with that? Well, let me explain. I was watching a bumblebee buzzing around my flowers and I was thinking about the pollination process. If you think hard about it you’ll get where I’m going with this :) As authors we start with the seed that grows into a flower which of course is our book. Once we’ve completed our work of art we start spreading it everywhere. Then of course other authors or bees in this analogy, spread it to other places and so on and so on. Are you getting the picture? Of course we do want to make sure to cross pollinate too. We need to work together as authors and helps other authors promote. It’s a win, win. Have you noticed that we do a lot of promoting on other authors sites and them on ours? I was asked by a non writer once why we do that and I laughed. I told them it may sound crazy, but it still gets our name out there. We all have followers that read what we post. Then of course if we recommend a book they’ll go over and check it out, then also when we cross pollinate, the original author gets more views from the other authors followers. It may sound confusing, but it’s really quite simple. It’s like a pyramid, but legal. So, have you cross pollinated lately? Don’t forget about Romancing September Across The World will start Septemeber 1st. I’ll be posting more in the next week regarding it. But I’ll tell you this, we’ve got 30 awesome authors involved and it’s going to be a great chance to do some pollinating, ummm…. you know what I mean, sharing :) As always, good writing and May God Bless You… For more info: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/romancing-september-tour/ Also, the countdown is getting close for Safe In The Pirate’s Arms…

Mid Week Snippet!

With Safe in the Pirate’s Arms coming out in 2 days, I thought I’d tease you a little bit. You know me, I have to let you in on the fun! I will say this, writing a Pirate Romance was so much fun that guess what, no wait should I tell you this yet? Hmmmm…. ok you pulled my leg, be looking for another installment coming over the horizon. Watch for it. It will sail into book sites in the near future, but for now, here’s a snippet of Caleb & Serena’s story: Pacing the quarters that were quickly shrinking, she finally walked over to the door. She placed her ear on the door to see if anyone was near. When she heard nothing, she quietly opened the door. Slowly she stepped out of the cabin. The sea air felt wonderful on her face. Closing her eyes she let it blow over her body and through her hair. The smell was heavenly and made her long to be up on deck. She leaned over the railing and looked down at the water rippling and splashing on the side of the huge ship. So caught up in her view, she didn’t hear Caleb coming up the walkway. He couldn’t believe she was already disobeying him. She was caught off guard when he pulled her quickly into his quarters. The anger in his eyes told her that this would cost her freedom. “Do you even have a thought to your safety? Am I the only one concerned with it?” He thrust her toward the bed and stood over her. “I left you untied because I wanted to give you a chance to walk around and for your wrists to heal.” “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stay cooped up in here. It’s stuffy and warm.” She indicated the sweat on her brow. He walked over to the door and contemplated what to do with this woman. She’d disobeyed his orders. What if his men would’ve seen her? Rolling his eyes he turned to look down at her. “If you’ll stay in here until after the men go to sleep, I’ll take you up on deck.” He put his hands on his hips. “Can you handle that?” What was she doing to his control? She meekly looked up at him from under her lowered lashes. “I’ll stay right here.” She was excited about going up on deck to see the stars overhead. They were always brighter out at sea. “I’ll be back in a bit with dinner, so you’d better be right here. Do you understand?” He talked to her as if she was a child. “I’m not a child.” She huffed out. “Then don’t make me treat you like one.” He said and walked back out the door. By the time he stepped back on deck he was smiling. Things were not going to get boring with her on board. He whistled as he stepped up to take the wheel from Tom. Tom grinned at his friends light mood. “Well how’s the prisoner?” Caleb cut a hard look at him. “She’s not a prisoner and she’s the most stubborn woman I’ve ever dealt with.” He growled out. “Well, most women that are brave usually have a stubborn streak. And she’s definitely brave.” He shook his head and laughed. “I’ve never known many women who’d want to sneak on a pirate ship.”

That was just a little dangling bait to wet your senses. It’s a powerful book that takes you on a journey across the sea and back. Don’t forget, it’s coming Friday! As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

New Website and Release date finalized!

It’s been a very productive past couple of days. I have a new website that features buy links for my paperbacks and it’s pretty neat. You can go over and visit at http://www.stephaniehurtauthor.com/. Also this is something that Horseshoe Publishing does. We offer website design and set up. Also at competitive rates. Just wanted to throw that in there. The other big news is that “Safe In The Pirate’s Arms” official release date is Friday, August 15th. Yep that’s this Friday. I’m excited that it’s so soon, I’d thought it might me next week. Of course my new website has a countdown to the minute, but you know how these book sites are. It could go up a little earlier, but that’s the approximate time. I hope everyone is having an awesome week so far. As for me, it’s been great and I’m working on Emma. The countdown to release is coming up. Then on to the new series. Yikes, deadlines! Yep, I love being a writer. As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Safe in the Pirate's Arms by Stephanie Hurt - Author/Accountant/Children's Minister

Safe in the Pirate's Arms by Stephanie Hurt - Author/Accountant/Children's Minister