Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 69

I Love Puzzles, Scavenger Hunts, and Trivia!

I really love solving a good mystery. I have never passed up a good puzzle, scavenger hunt, or trivia contest. My friends from high school can tell you, I was cutthroat at Trivial Pursuit. This could all be why I went back to school for a forensic criminology degree. I have a need to solve things. I bring this up because I also love to create puzzles for people. My very first job working for someone else (I had my own cleaning business before this but I worked for myself) was as an artist for a local sports magazine. I got to create the kid's fun page. I made dot-to-dot pictures, crossword puzzles, trivia questions, and more. It was so much fun to do so I thought I would bring that back into my books. I had this idea as I was writing the next to the last chapter of Into the West: Sharon Springs. I just have one more short chapter to finish tonight and I'm done with this book, I think. My current beta reader is giving it a once over to make sure it doesn't feel like it ends too abruptly. If it does feel like that to my beta reader then there might need to be an extra chapter to round it all out a bit better. We'll see. Anyway, the idea I had was to hide a contest somewhere in my books. Readers will need to find the contest information in the extra bits, the Acknowledgements, About the Author, Coming Soon, Copyright information, etc. in the book. It will tell you where to look on my webpage, www.stephenburckhardt.com, for a hidden link that will take you to a secret page on the website. You will have to read the book the contest is in and answer a trivia question to get the password to open the secret page once you've found it. When you open the page you will find the first chapter of the next book as your prize. I might add in a few more freebies later depending on how this goes over. The more people who are interested and play along the more I'm likely to give away better stuff.I've already had a lot of fun setting up the hidden link on my website and building the secret page. I hope you'll all play along and we can have a great time with this. For now though, I promised another sneak peek for today and here it is. Into the West: Sharon SpringsChapter 12Tim reached out and put his hand over Stacy’s. She closed her eyes and bowed her head a bit, as if the weight of the conversation was pressing on her.“You and Timothy have such a bond. You are thick as thieves and I’m thankful you have that but it makes me feel like an outsider in this family, like a visitor in my own home.”Stacy jerked her head up and looked at Tim in surprise at hearing his confession. She tried to pull her hands back but Tim gently held them in place. He reached out with his other hand to cup her hands between his as he continued.“Don’t misunderstand me; I am not angry about that. I understand that what you went through together bonded you closer than anyone could ever imagine. I envy you that.”Stacy relaxed a bit and allowed Tim to hold her hands on the table. The couple sat like that for several minutes before Tim continued.“Believe it or not, I know what your fear is. You don’t want to bring any more children into our family because it just gives us someone else we could lose and that thought is worse than anything else you could possibly imagine,” said Tim in a quiet voice as he began to stroke Stacy’s hand with is thumb.Stacy bowed her head again as tears began to slide down her cheeks. She made no noise. She just sat still with her head down as she listened.“I need to do this, Stacy. I can’t be the odd man out in my own family the rest of my life. I need someone who needs me too like Timothy needs you.”Tim had pled his case. Now he waited to hear how his wife felt about it all.

So Close!!!

I am getting so excited about the release of Into the West: Sharon Springs. I think this will be the best book yet. It's certainly going to be the longest. I should warn everyone, if you cried reading the first two, get ready to bawl reading this one. I give it a three tissue warning. I know I promised a sneak peek last Sunday and forgot about it and I said I would make up for it this week and here it is Saturday and I still haven't done it. I am very sorry for dropping the ball on this one but in my defense, I have been so focused on writing this book I have done little else. I'm so close to getting it finished and I really want to be able to get it loaded up for presale by the end of this month so I have release it in April. I'm so close to actually meeting this self imposed deadline and I really want to keep it. I just had an idea! I want to do a special thank you to everyone who has stuck with me while I figure this all out and buys Into the West: Sharon Springs. I think I will add a line on the Coming Soon page in the book that has a password to unlock the first chapter of the next book, Into the West: Most Wanted as soon as it is available. The page will be hidden on my Members Only page of the website. Do not worry, it's free to join the Members Only page and you can quit at anytime. All you have to do is sign up for it and you get all kinds of free stuff like this free chapter I just mentioned. I need to work out all of the details on this. Keep watching the blog for all the information as soon as I get it all set up. I have always loved puzzles and scavenger hunts, I may have to make this seek and find thing a regular part of my books. lol Now that I had that idea, I have all kinds of new stuff I need to be working on. It's a good thing I love doing this stuff or I'd go crazy with everything that needs to get done. I need to make more money at this so I can hire a staff so I can just write! It's good to have dreams. For now though, the sneak peek I promised you a week ago! (don't worry, you'll still get one tomorrow too.)Into the West: Sharon SpringsChapter 11“Papa! Papa!” called Martha.Tim jumped as he released the shoe from his hand and watched it sail through the air, landing about a full foot to the left of his post.“Ugh!” grunted Tim in frustration. He rested his hands on his knees and stayed bent over with his head hanging for a moment as he took a deep breath before he spoke. He didn’t want to lash out at Martha for startling him but she had just cost him the match and one whole dollar, which he had bet Doc Pete.Doc walked over to Tim and clapped his friend on the back as he let out a loud belly laugh.“Poor Tim, foiled by his own daughter,” said Doc as he continued to chuckle over his win. “Just remember, life is rarely fair. It can be just at times but rarely fair!”Doc continued to chuckle as Tim gave him a dirty look. Tim took a deep breath and stood up. He looked over at Martha who was clutching her favorite doll, which he had carved for her for her third birthday.The worried expression on his daughter’s face instantly melted the last bits of frustration he had with her.“Marty, darlin’, what’s the matter?”’Martha looked at the sky and stroked her doll for comfort as she spoke, “I want to go home, Papa. Can we go, please?”Tim knelt down so he was eye level with his daughter. He pulled her close and stroked her hair as he spoke.“Don’t fret so, Marty, darlin’. We will get home in plenty of time. The storm is still a ways off yet.”Lightning struck off in the distance and after a moment thunder rumbled. Martha hugged her doll closer and looked to be on the verge of tears. The depth of her fear broke Tim’s heart. Even though he was sure they had plenty of time to get home before the worst of the storm hit town, Tim decided they should pack up and leave for the sake of his daughter’s peace of mind. Tim hugged his daughter tightly as he cooed gentle reassurances in her ear. After a few moments, he stood up and gave Doc Pete a soulful look.Doc gripped his friend’s shoulder and nodded in understanding then took a look at the sky.“You know, if you’re worried about gettin’ home ahead of this storm, ya’ll are always welcome to bunk down with Deb and me. Dylan would love to have the kids there to help him tear up the house. It’s a big job for one small boy to do all on his own.”Tim smiled at his friend but shook his head no.“Thank you kindly, Doc, but I got a sick cow at home that I need to get back to. I can’t afford to get stuck in town a few days if that river floods the valley. If we lose her, we’ll be hurting for milk for quite a while before we can get one of the other girls ready to produce for us.”Doc nodded, “I understand. As long as you know our door is always open to you and yours.”Tim smiled and nodded at his friend.Doc clapped Tim on the back again. “Well, come on then. If you are going to get going, we better get you packed up.”The men rounded up Tim’s family and got their things loaded up onto their buckboard. After goodbyes were said and promises made to get together soon for a meal, the Ruth family headed off toward their ranch.

Ever Moving Forward!

Hello Posse! I hope all is well in your lives. Things have been a crazy roller coaster lately. We celebrated P.R.'s birthday here recently. I did my usual job of decorating the apartment after P.R. went to bed so when P.R. got up, the living room was covered in signs and lights and a banner. I always try to go a little bigger every year. I also made P.R. a cake and we went out to dinner. It was a good day. The winner of our Valentine's Day giveaway, Linda Boswell, got her prize package. I love that Linda won this prize. I used to work with Linda at Barnes & Nobles Booksellers in Wichita, Kansas several years ago. I know Linda is an avid reader and I can't wait to hear what she thinks of my books. I have been hard at work finishing up book three, Into the West: Sharon Springs. I am still planning to have it up for pre-sale later this month. I a taking a week off of my teaching job to make sure I get it all finished up in time. I will be making an announcement when I have the date set for it to go live. Keep watching here and on my Facebook and Twitter page for more information. I found a new program online that allows you to make book mockups for free so today I reworked my My Books page using mockups. I'm still not crazy about the top of the page but I'll keep tweaking it. I finally broke down and bought a bike. Mainly because my mother got tired of me always using money I had saved up to buy a bike for something for my books instead of for the bike and she sent me money for a bike for my Christmas present. She had been trying to decide what to get me for months and when I told her, yet again, that I was going to use the money I had saved for a bike for something else. Well, she just said enough is enough and sent me the money for the bike I had been looking at for about four years now with the understanding that it could only be used for the bike. So, I finally ordered my bike. It came from Amazon in about four days. It was a fiasco putting it together but I think I have it all set now (thanks in part to YouTube how-to videos) but ever since I finished the build, we have had nothing but nasty stormy weather here. Isn't that just always the way? I have been making good progress on part three, Into the West: Sharon Springs. I think I should have the writing done sometime in the next week, maybe week and a half. It shouldn't take my editor very long to get through it. I hope as I keep writing, I am writing cleaner as I progress in this serial. I do try to catch as much as possible before I send it off to Greg for the final edit. Now, for what I'm sure at least some of you are waiting for, your sneak peek at Into the West: Sharon Springs. “Mrs. Kelly, ma’am, if the children agree to this arrangement, will you give your approval?” Mrs. Kelly looked up at Tim and spoke, “Mr. Ruth, I know for a fact Elizabeth and Conner will never agree to be separated. These children are closely bonded and love each other too much to ever want to go to separate homes. If I split them up there will be tears and tantrums and probably nights of nightmares. They will never agree to that.” Mrs. Kelly could see the obvious disappointment on Tim’s face as he dropped his eyes and shook his head, yes. He put his hat back on and turned to leave the church just as Mrs. Kelly placed her hand on his arm and added, “But I’m going to approve it anyway.” Tim Ruth had to sit down while he processed what Mrs. Kelly had just said to him. “I beg your pardon?” asked Tim. Mrs. Kelly sat down beside Tim and gave him a sad smile. “I know this will be a horrible experience for these children . . . at first,” said Mrs. Kelly. “It will be emotional and terrifying and they will probably hate me for doing this to them.” Mrs. Kelly had to stop speaking for a moment to compose herself. The idea that these children might hate her for what she was about to do, hurt her more than she ever imagined possible but she felt she had to do this. Mrs. Kelly had worked with foundlings in New York City for years. She knew the kinds of homes where they were often placed. The prospective families were not always loving couples looking to parent orphan children. More often than not, they were farmers or business owners who needed cheap labor. They took on the children because their upkeep for a few years was cheaper than the salary for a hired hand. While the situations were not ideal, it was still better than living on the streets of New York City begging for food everyday just to survive. Mrs. Kelly hated to admit it but she wanted more for Elizabeth and Conner. She had grown close to them, something she had never allowed herself to do with any of her other charges, it made her job so much more difficult. It didn’t matter now, she couldn’t undo it. She also knew she couldn’t bring herself to let these children go to any families she wasn’t convinced would love them and welcome them into their homes as if they were their own. Mrs. Kelly felt the Wellensteins and the Ruths were the best possible families she was going to find for Elizabeth and Conner. The fact that the families were already so close just made the situation even better in her mind. They may have to live in separate homes but they would still get to see each other from time to time. Something told her, this was the best situation she was going to find for them. Mrs. Kelly did her best to explain her feelings to Tim as she choked back her emotions. Suddenly, she became very aware that most of the congregation was still in the church and listening intently to their conversation. Mrs. Kelly stood up and faced the townspeople. “If you will excuse me, I think for this final placement I am going to make the announcement to the children in private. It is going to be traumatic enough for them I don’t want them to have to hear the news in such a public forum.” The people all began to get up and leave without objection. Many people left without saying a word while some came by to congratulate Tim on the addition to his family before leaving. A few even thanked Mrs. Kelly for bringing the foundlings to their town.

Progress!

Hello Posse,I just wanted to share the good news. I just finished the next chapter in Into the West: Sharon Springs. I think I can wrap up this storyline in two maybe three chapters. I'm going to get going on the next one here tonight after dinner. This chapter I just finished took longer than I expected. i thought I would have it done last Sunday night but i got stuck on some dialog. I finally got it all worked out this afternoon. WIth any luck, i can still meet my plan to finish this book this week. Thought tomorrow will be a bit of a bust for writing, it's P.R.'s birthday. I will decorate tonight after P.R. goes to bed so everything is up in the morning when P.R. gets up. Then tomorrow afternoon I'll be making P.R.'s cake. I have always made them from scratch since we met. I'm convinced that is in part why P.R. married me. But for tonight, I'm going to take a little break and then get right back at it until the wee hours again. I've actually been fading a lot earlier than usual lately. Normally I'm up until 3 or 4 am when I'm writing but recently I've started falling asleep at the keyboard around 2 am. Must be old age finally taking hold of me. That or not nearly enough coffee in my diet. If you want to send P.R. a birthday message you can go to my Facebook page and post one on my timeline. P.R. always reads the posts.For now, take care posse and I'll keep you up to date on when this next installment is finished and online. With heartfelt regards,Stephen

Sneak Peek Sunday

Hey Posse,I'm afraid I'm falling asleep at the keyboard here but I promised you a Sneak Peek Sunday today and I wanted to deliver. I had a nice well informed post typed out for you but it disappeared. I'm sorry to say, I do not have the mental fortitude to try to recreate it right now. This is a short clip but very important to the story. I hope you enjoy it. **************************************Into the West: Sharon Springs“There has to be one good family here in town who would want to take those poor children on as their own.”Deb looked up and gave Pete such a look of desperation that he felt as though his heart actually skipped a beat from the aching need he saw in his wife’s eyes. No man who ever loved his wife could stand to see such a pained look from her. Pete knew he would move hell and high water to make sure he never saw that look from her again.Pete moved in closer to Deb and pulled her into his arms.“Don’t you fret another minute about that darlin’. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure those children stay right here in Sharon Springs.” Pete kissed his wife on her forehead and hugged her tighter as he added. “I give you my oath on that.” ***********************************************************************************Keep watching the blogs this week for more information on how part three is coming along.Best regardsStephen

I am so Giddy!

This will be a short message today. It's about 2:30 AM here and I have to teach in the morning but I wanted to share the amazing news. I am now a bestselling author! What?!That is right. Yours truly is now an actual bestselling author! It happened last Friday during the free giveaway. I was posting promotional information on Facebook and Twitter like a mad fiend. Then I decided to see how it was ranking on Amazon. Before I started promoting the giveaway for my book, Into the West: A New Home - Special Edition, was ranked in 2,668,815th position on Amazon. Once the giveaway began, the book started rising in the ranks. When I checked on February 15th, my book had jumped all the way to the 57th position! I had cracked the top 100!It was incredible to finally have a book on the bestsellers list. After working hard to promote the book across the several different social media platforms, the book jumped up to slot 41. Unfortunately, I was temporarily banned from commenting in groups on FB because of too many posts (totally worth it!) and lost out on promoting the giveaway on the last day. I did try buying advertising on Facebook to make up for it. I only had about 12 hours left on the free giveaway. It took Facebook about an hour to approve the ad to run. Then it actually started getting noticed. After about 6 hours, It showed that 2,000+ people saw the ad but only 9 people had clicked the link to download the book. I killed the ad with a few hours left. It was obviously not effective. I wonder if it would have gone higher if I had been able to keep posting in the groups, but to be honest, I don't care. Because not only did I finally crack the top 100, I managed to get into the top 50. Not bad for a brain damaged person, who struggles to call her husband and dog by their correctrect name! The book topped out in the 41st position. I haven't been this happy since I was getting ready for my wedding. Now, I need to gear up for the next promotion. That oe will coincide with the release of part three, Into the West: Sharon Springs, coming in March. Keep watching my social media for more announcements. Time to head to bed. I'm falling asleep writing this. I will write more tomorrow after I've had some sleep. Goodnight Posse,Stephen Burckhardt, Bestselling Western Author.

I've Formed a Facebook Group

Hello Posse!I created a Facebook chat group for authors and fans of books to team up! I have no idea if this will take off or not but I thought this would be a good place to get authors and readers together to talk about books. Who doesn't like to do that?!Just click the button and join up!I hope to be chatting with you soon!Stephen

Sneak Peek Sunday!

Hello Posse!I'm hard at work trying to get Into the West: Sharon Springs finished to go on pre-sale on Valentine's Day for a March release date. I wanted to share a little peek at what I'm working on. I hope you like the teaser. Please keep in mind, this has not been to the editor yet. Greg will fix any typos I missed before publication. The rain held at a steady mist until the family was well out of sight of Sharon Springs. Lightning was striking more often but was still a good distance away. The thunder was a faint crack and rumble that you could barely hear and couldn’t feel at all.Tim directed his horse down into the valley. If they could just get through this stretch of lowland before the rain really broke, everything would be fine.The family was quiet. Stacy was in the bed of the buckboard huddled under a quilt with the children trying to keep them warm and, at least, mostly dry.Suddenly, there was a lightning strike on the ridge to the left of them. The thunder boomed so loudly you could feel it in your bones.The horse reared and danced before taking off at a dead run sending the family bouncing along with him. Tim struggled to get him under control but the sky chose that moment to open up and drop a torrent of rain, pounding down like it was trying to beat the earth flat.Tim could hear his family’s cries as he fought to get his horse under control. Down the road, he saw a tree limb lying across their path. Tim did his best to stop the horse or, at the very least, steer it around the obstacle but the horse was set on his course and was not going to be diverted.Be sure to enter my current Valentine's Day Grab Bag Giveaway. Time is running out to enter. Contest ends February 13th. Winner will be announced on Valentine's Day. Thanks for following my career! It's much appreciated!Stephen

Finally Doing Some Advertising

Hello Posse! Some great things have been happening lately. I finally got a crowbar and wrenched some money out of my wallet and bought advertising. The ad you see in this blog is from a site I joined called AllAuthor.com. If you love to read you should really check out their website. It has a pretty nice setup. I also bought some social media advertising through BooksGoSocial.com. They have already started tweeting my books. It's much too soon to tell if either of these platforms will help me grow my fanbase. I will just have to wait and see.I did manage to actually reach 200 followers on Facebook. It's surprising how long that actually took. However, I have seen my Twitter following double in the last month so that is promising.I have been working on chapter three and I just want to do one more read through before sending it off to my amazing editor, Greg Wood. While it's off with him, I plan to get busy writing chapter four. I don't think four will take long to write. It's pretty set in my head. If I can get done with three and four this weekend, I should be on track to do a pre-sale release on Valentine's Day to go along with announcing the winner of my Valentine's Day Grab Bag Giveaway.Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. Good luck to you all!!Stephen

I do Believe I'm Making Progress

Today, I decided to work on some publicity and do some much needed cleanup work on my author sites while I wait for my beta readers to get back to me on the last chapter. I've been fixing typos on my website, uploading trailers to different sites, and tweeting like crazy.I decided to head to my Amazon author page and check out a few things. I wanted to see if the things I have been doing lately are making any difference in my visibility as an author. I checked my books standings on Amazon today and boy was I pleasantly surprised!How my books rank: Among all books: digital and print Aug. 2018 ranked 615,065 Feb. 2019 ranked 38,735Among digital books Aug. 2018 ranked 99,798 Feb. 2019 ranked 8,492Among print books Aug. 2018 ranked 137,106 Feb. 2019 ranked 10,433This is amazing! I'm nowhere near bestseller status yet but I'm moving in the right direction! Thank you to everyone who supports my work. I couldn't do this without YOU!!!Stephen