Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 32

Forever Yours is Now Available!

This is Dave and Mary’s third and final book!

[image error]

I have put it in the Nebraska Series because their other two books are there. Plus, they fit in with the first generation of Larsons, and all of the first generation is within the Nebraska Series.

Here are the books in order:

Her Heart’s Desire (Sally Larson’s romance)
A Bride for Tom (Tom Larson’s romance)
A Husband for Margaret
Eye of the Beholder (Dave and Mary’s first book)
The Wrong Husband (Jenny Larson’s romance)
Shotgun Groom (Joel Larson’s romance)
To Have and To Hold (Dave and Mary’s second book)
His Redeeming Bride
Forever Yours (Dave and Mary’s third book)
Isaac’s Decision (Isaac is a second generation Larson but this book wraps up the subplot between Dave Larson and Neil Craftsman I started in Eye of the Beholder)

About this book

With that aside, Forever Yours is a cute romantic comedy. We’ve already established Dave and Mary are in love, and they’ve had some difficult times in the past. I thought for a chance of pace it would be nice to give them a lighthearted story line.

I bring back the first generation Larsons, so you can get an update on them and revisit old friends.

The Outlaw’s Bride (and following books in the series) Will Go Forward

Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer my question about waiting for a few months between releases on a book where the series is closely knit together.

[image error]   [image error]

A sneak peak for The Rancher’s Bride will be inserted at the end of The Outlaw’s Bride

One of the concerns brought up with a couple of beta readers was not knowing what happened to Abby. Abby is the heroine for Book 2, The Rancher’s Bride.  After bouncing some ideas around over the past week, I decided to put in a sneak peak for Book 2. That way people can find out what happened to her on a particular night that is a key event in The Outlaw’s Bride.

My new email list

Also, I noticed a couple of people mentioning the importance of knowing a specific release date for The Rancher’s Bride. With homeschooling and other stuff happening that has thrown my entire writing schedule into chaos, I can’t pinpoint a specific date. I’m not getting as much writing in as did earlier this year. All I can do is give you an estimate. I’m looking at publishing The Rancher’s Bride in Summer 2020. I’m hoping I don’t have to move the date back. If the book doesn’t turn into a long one like Fairest of Them All and The Imperfect Husband did, I should be fine. But I can’t make any promises.

So to compromise, I have brought back my email list. That way when I have a new book out, you’ll get an email in your inbox letting you know about it. I’m only going to use this email list to announce new releases. I know some authors do giveaways, free reads, post a special scene, send pictures, give personal stories about their lives, etc, but I really don’t have time to do that.  So if you sign up for the email list, you will only get a simple email that says, “Here’s my new book, and this is where you can find it.”

You can go to the email link on this blog to sign up, or you can go directly to the site on MailChimp at this link.

As a disclaimer, the emails are kept on the MailChimp site. I will only use them to send out the new release emails via MailChimp. You’ll probably get an email about six times a year.

I did a test run on the sign up page, and everything went fine, but one person had an issue with it. If you’re unable to sign up, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not a technical expert. I guess the best thing to do in that case is make sure you’re subscribed to this blog (top right corner of this page–just under the roses) or subscribe to my monthly newsletter if you only want to get an email once a month.

 

How Long Are You Willing to Wait Between Book Releases in a Series?

I’m having something of a dilemma, and I would like your help figuring out the best course of action.

Warning: this post contains spoilers.

The Wyoming Series has an overall plot that covers the entire series.

So far, this is what I’ve done in this series. I’ve finished The Outlaw’s Bride, and I started The Rancher’s Bride.

[image error]  [image error]

I typically make the series plot low key when I write them. In this case, the series plot is more center stage.

Here is the series plot:

The villain is currently in possession of Wade’s ranch. The villain also has Wade’s two-year-old son as a hostage. This is where we are at when we begin Book 1. From Book 1 to Book 3, the plan is to rescue the boy and get the ranch back.

Without trying to give too much away, this is the series format:

Book 1: The goal is to get the boy away from the villain. Mic and Lillian (hero and heroine of this book) help in this pursuit, but I don’t go into what happens with the boy because that is a big part of Book 2. I also leave a couple of other minor things up in the air because these come into play in the rest of the series.

Book 2: Abby (heroine of this book) has the boy, and her main goal is to reunite the boy with his father (Wade). She is injured, however, and needs to stay for a while with the hero of this book (Thayne). This ends up happening by the end of this book.

Book 3: Wade (hero of this book) has his son back, and now it’s time for him to take back his ranch. This is accomplished by the end of this book with the help of the heroine of this book.

I’m thinking a Book 4 would be necessary to successfully wrap up this series. It depends on how the series plot is flowing. I may or may not get the villain behind bars or send him to the cemetery. It’s too early to tell what will happen. But the villain will be brought to justice by the end of the series plot.

As an aside, let me make it clear that each book features a specific romance plot.

Book 1: Lillian is on her way to her mail-order husband when Mic intervenes. He says he’s there to save her from marrying the wrong man, and part of this will require her to marry him. Does she agree and go with him, and if so, will he give her the happy ending she longs for?

Book 2: Abby is injured and has lost her way to get the boy to his father. She ends up at Thayne’s ranch, and she’s forced to stay there while her injuries heal. Unfortunately, he has a ranch hand and a couple of other men coming by who knows she has the boy. She’s fallen in love with Thayne, but it might be too dangerous for her to give into her feelings, so she has to make the decision between bringing him into the dangerous situation she’s in or letting him go.

Book 3: I haven’t started this book yet, so I’m not clear on the actual plot of this one, but there will be a plot where Wade finds love with the heroine of this book. I won’t know the details of this until I’m writing it.

Book 4: If I wrote this, it would involve another hero and another heroine and how they fall in love.

So in a nutshell: The books are independent as far as the romance is concerned, but they are intimately connected in relation to the boy, the ranch, and bringing the villain to justice. This would be one series best read in order because you’ll miss something if you jump ahead.

Now for my dilemma:

I can’t afford to sit and wait to write each of these books and then publish all of the books at once. I need to publish enough books every year to supplement my husband’s income. My five-year goal is to be free from the burden of needing my writing income in order to make ends meet around my house.

I have two choices at this juncture.

1. Publish Book 1 in January, Book 2 this summer, Book 3 this fall/winter, and maybe Book 4 in early 2021.

2. Drop the series completely. I can’t guarantee I’ll come back to this series. I don’t know what will happen in the future.

My question to you:

Are you okay with waiting months between each book’s release?

OR

Will you be upset if you can’t get all of the books at once?

******

I’m going to tally up the responses I get. If it’s 50/50, I’ll drop the series. There has to be a significant percentage of people who are fine with waiting for me to continue with this series in order for me to go through with it. I already did something where half the people were upset with a decision I made, and I vowed to never go through that again. So that’s why I’m coming to you today asking for your input.

What I’m Working On

It’s been a while since I made one of these posts, so I thought I’d do it now.

Progress Comes in Small Chunks

[image error]

ID 135366877 © UMI NADRA HAMID | Dreamstime.com

I was only able to write two days last week. This upcoming week, I won’t be able to write at all. I should be back on track with writing, however, after that.

It quickly became clear that my kid isn’t a big fan of doing his homeschooling six days a week. I was trying that method because we had three weeks’ worth of classes to catch up on. It turned out to be like pulling teeth since his brothers have two days off and he doesn’t. So on Wednesday, I decided we’re going to double up on everything until we’re caught up. At this rate, we’ll be caught up on October 11. Sure, the next week will be a lot more work, but getting done sooner will be a huge relief for the poor kid. He’s on board with this plan because he can see the results faster this way.

I realize I could have treated the transition from one homeschool program to another as a “move”. I transferred from one school to another in November in the 6th grade and in early October in the 12th grade. No one started me over fresh on the classes I was taking. I had to catch up on my own. So, yes, I could have transitioned him over without starting fresh.

I decided to start fresh because I felt it was still early enough in the school year where it wouldn’t take long to catch up. Plus, I felt by treating everything like the beginning of the school year, it would be easier for the two of us to adjust to the new curriculum. It’s given me time to get a better idea of how I best work as a homeschool teacher and how he best works as a homeschool student. With the first curriculum plan, everything was planned out in detail for us. There was no need to figure anything out. You just did what the manuals and videos told you to do. I knew I would need to figure my way through this new curriculum, and I was more comfortable doing it from “Day 1”.

The new curriculum I picked up was Discovery K12, and it’s become more and more supplemental as time’s been going on. I now think of it as a guideline than something I need to follow every day. This week, I noticed I’m already going on my own tangent as I’m getting more comfortable with what I’m doing and learning what best motivates my kid to learn. I have already gone back and rewritten the objectives for the courses that I wrote two weeks ago, and today, I adjusted the grading scales for each subject because my original one wasn’t turning into a good fit for either me or him. I’ve come across other parents’ way of doing their own plans, but I’ve discovered I enjoy creating my own because I can specifically gear it to what works best for my kid. The more I proceed into this, the more I realize I want to create my own classroom environment. And the more I create my own stuff, the more excited and energized I get by this.

What I’m realizing is that this is a lot like writing a book. The more a person does it, the more they learn what methods work and what methods don’t. Over time, they find ways to fine-tune what they’re doing. No one goes into anything knowing it all. I don’t care how many videos one watches, how many books they read, or how many people they talk to; until they’re actually doing it, they aren’t able to really grasp how they are best able to perform the task. This is because everyone brings in their own backgrounds, preferences, and personalities. We can’t all be put into a box. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to anything. There are many ways of doing something where people can reach the same conclusion. In the matter of writing, the end goal is the published book. In homeschooling, the end goal is the kid to learn the material. How you get there isn’t as important as actually getting there.

Over the years, I’ve found small steps toward a big goal has helped a lot in staying on task and staying motivated. It’s why I have my daily word count goals when I write. I pace myself so it doesn’t get to be too much. If the pacing doesn’t work, I adjust the word count goals until it does. I believe in rewards for reaching the small goals, too. Every small step in the right direction is improvement. I don’t care what the project is. If you break things down into manageable sizes, then you don’t end up feeling so overwhelmed that you quit.

I’ve also come to learn the value of flexibility. If something isn’t working, there’s no point in sticking with it. It’s best to try an alternate way of doing things. This is why when a writer tells me they can’t write by the seat of their pants, I tell them to try outlining what will happen next. If a writer is getting stalled on a book because it isn’t following the outline they laid out, I suggest they modify the outline or throw the outline out and try writing the rest of the book without it.

Homeschooling is not any different. The curriculum I was using at first is a very popular one that a lot of people love, but it wasn’t the right fit for me or my kid. This new method where I go to DiscoveryK12 to get the “blueprint” for what is grade appropriate for my kid and use that to create my own curriculum has turned into a much better fit. The point is, you don’t know if something will work if you don’t try it. Some people get stuck on their failures. Failures aren’t really failures. They’re learning opportunities. They give you a chance to try something in a different way. Like I said earlier, if you reach the final destination, then who cares how you got there? The point is, you did it, and that’s something to be happy about.

Okay. I’m off my soapbox.

Nelly’s Mail Order Husband is Available!

This book features Tom and Jessica Larson’s oldest daughter!

[image error]

This is Book 1 in the Husbands for the Larson Sisters Series.

I don’t have any information for the other books in this series yet, but I’m planning to write books for the rest of Tom and Jessica’s three daughters. When those stories are ready to be written, I’ll write them. I used to force myself to complete a series, but I don’t do that anymore. I learned the hard way that rushing a book only pisses off half of the people who read it. So this time, I’ll bide my time.

With that aside, I’ll stop rambling and get to the good stuff.

Thoughts on Homeschooling

I ran into a wall with the homeschooling curriculum I had purchased to use this school year. I made it three weeks into the program when I realized it wasn’t a good fit for me and my kid. I thought it would be because as a student, I’m actually a good fit for the thing. If my mom had handed this program to me, I would have done well in it. But then, as a student, I loved listening to lectures and taking notes. As a homeschool teacher, however, it doesn’t work. I was getting bored and restless. As for my kid, he doesn’t like to listen to lectures and take notes. He wants to be active and do things. This program did not allow for this.

I have to say that these past three weeks have been a huge eye-opening experience for me. I realized that just because something sounds perfect on paper, it might not be a good fit in real life. I don’t know if it’s my age (44) or the fact that I spent two grueling years trying to figure out what the heck I’m going to do with my writing, but I have grown impatient for wasting time. In this case, I was also wasting my kid’s time.

Fortunately, a friend passed on a different homeschooling option that is turning out to be a better fit for me and my kid. It’s not accredited. The nerd in me had to let the accreditation thing go. After doing some research, I realized the accreditation part isn’t as important as I originally thought it was. I’m just going to keep attendance and track of the stuff we’re doing so if I’m ever asked, “What are you teaching your kid?”, I have the binder I can open up and show them. Thank goodness I have years of record keeping with the business side of writing to know how to track everything I do.

I did save the stuff I did with the other program for my records, and I am keeping a paper trail on the shift I’m making as I transfer from one program to another. That way I can always show the school system the dates these things happened, the “why” on the changes I made, and my alternative plans going forward.

This new program is very flexible. It gives me guideline on what he should learn for his grade level. I did go down one grade level. In my state, my kids took Pre-Algebra in the 8th grade. On the homeschool site, they have kids taking Pre-Alegbra for 7th grade. My kid isn’t ready for Algebra. So I’m doing Grade 8 for everything else but Grade 7 for math. Since this program is flexible, I’m able to do that. I can also substitute their plans for the day’s activities for each subject with a plan of my own.

It puts more of the planning on my shoulders. I didn’t think I’d want that, but it turns out I do. I’m energized by it. I get to tailor the lessons for my kid needs and what his interests are. I’m still figuring out a grading procedure I want to use. I want to use an objective standard of measuring to decide what grades he should get, but I’ve decided a huge portion of the grade will be effort. The fact that he is trying should matter. And sometimes getting the overall concept of an idea is more important than knowing specific facts. Facts can be found on the Internet. If I want to know the specific date the US Constitution was adopted, I can find that within two seconds. I’m more interested in my kid understanding why the thirteen colonies fought Britain to become an independent nation. Right now the History course covers the American Revolutionary War, which is why I used that example.

For English, I’m going completely on my own plan. My kid told me he wants to write a four-book series. Since he’s in the 8th grade, these aren’t going to be long books. At least, I don’t expect them to be. But as he was telling me how much he wants to write this particular series, I thought, “If he writes a book, he will learn punctuation, capitalization, vocabulary, spelling, writing, rewriting, and editing.” Since he’s new to writing a book, I will teach him how to outline (or plot) out a book. Making those Roman Numeral outlines is one of the goals of the 8th grade. Now, he might not end up being a writer who plots books. He might plot this one and then decide he’d rather “pants” the next book. But I see no reason to waste the chance to teach him how to make a Roman Numeral outline so he knows what one is. Plus, writing his own story will give him a hands-on approach to learn story structure and discuss elements like foreshadowing and flashbacks. The above were the things the original homeschool course was requiring for their English course. But that original course would never have let him write a book. He was going to have to do a bunch of homework from their books, and that would be boring. This way will be fun for him.

I’ll also help him make covers, which will fall into Art, and he’ll come up with soundtracks for his books, which will fall into Music. He’ll type the story on Word and format, so he’ll learn computer skills while he’s at it. I’m excited about the overlap this particular course will have into other subjects he’ll need to do anyway. He’s really excited about the series of books he wants to write, so we’ll probably end up focusing more in that area. I’m letting him come up with the stories himself. In my opinion, if he can have some control over what he gets to do, he’ll be more motivated to learn. I’m also letting him pick his own books to read because I think reading should be fun.

My ultimate goal is that he finds learning fun, so I’ll be experimenting with different strategies as time goes on. I’m sure there’s plenty more stuff I’ll learn as I get further into this homeschooling thing.

Warning: My Upcoming Books Might Not Be Your Cup of Tea

I didn’t know how else to title the post. But basically I want to give everyone a heads-up on what’s coming so no one is shocked.

Ever since I jumped off the “writing to market” bandwagon, I have found that the stories I’m writing are becoming more and more different from the stuff I wrote during the period I was writing to market (2016-mid-2018).

Now, these two books that I have coming out later this year are both funny and light.

[image error]  [image error]

(A quick reminder: Nelly’s Mail Order Husband is the romance for Tom and Jessica Larson’s oldest girl. Forever Yours is Dave and Mary’s third book.)

I will still write funny and light romances. I already know Book 2 in the Husbands for the Larson Sisters series will be funny and light. But I’m not ready to write it yet. I don’t even have a title for it. I’ve learned to wait for the right idea to come along instead of forcing it. When the book is ready, it’ll get written.

In the meantime, I am writing in some areas that some of  you might not enjoy, and I’ll get into that below:
Marriage by Fairytale Series (Regency gothic romance)

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

This series is a look into the darker side of the human soul. I noticed a couple of people don’t care for this series, so I thought I better offer a warning now before Book 5 comes out. The further into this series I get, the darker (or more gothic) these books get. This wasn’t intentional. I didn’t set out to go in this direction. This just evolved as time went on.

The Duke’s Secluded Bride (Book 5) is going to be darker than the previous books in this series. This particular story is loosely based off of the Rapunzel fairy tale. I had to explain why my heroine is hiding from the world. I wasn’t sure what the reason was when I started this book, but I’ve now come to realize that she is voluntarily hiding in the west wing of the manor because believes that man-eating creatures are lurking outside and will get her if she goes outside. Now, we all know these creatures don’t really exist. But the point is, she believes they do.

You see, the villain in this story likes to play psychological mind games on the people around him. I show this early on in the book. So don’t worry. I didn’t just spoil the book. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been researching the topic of gaslighting and narcissism. (This is the Psychology major in me coming out.) Anyway, this research is impacting the direction of this story. Some narcissists like to gaslight the people around them. That’s the case with this villain. In order to stay in control, he makes the people around him think  they’re going crazy by gaslighting them. The process of him doing this while our hero and heroine are falling in love is what I’m most interested in exploring, and that’s the focus of the story. I imagine that toward the end of this book, he’s going to actively hunt down the hero and heroine, and since there is no redeeming him, he will have to die. The death might be deemed violent. I don’t see the villain going down without a fight.

Marriage by Design Series (Regency romance)

[image error] Other books to be added to this series

This series is funny and light, BUT they feature feisty heroines who aren’t afraid to speak their minds. For the most part, I have avoided these types of heroines because they are not popular with most readers. Most readers prefer the heroine who is soft and easy to win over. That is not this kind of heroine, and judging by the lady who’s going to be the heroine in Book 2 of this series, she’s not like that, either. Both of these ladies are strong-willed. In Book 1, the lady has her sights set on the hero and traps him into a marriage. The hero, while in love with this lady, is not happy. He’s actively trying to dismiss his feelings because she’s rejected him in the past, and he doesn’t want to be vulnerable again. Her goal is to figure out a way to get him “back”.

To do this, I’m going to get two notable cads: Lord Edon and Mr. Christopher Robinson. I’m going back in time in this book. At this point, in the timeline, these two gentlemen are still bachelors. The events in A Most Unsuitable Earl and His Reluctant Lady have not taken place yet. Mr. Christopher Robinson (if you’ll recall) helped the heroine in this book (Lilly Lowell) sneak into Lord Hedwrett’s townhouse so she could see what kind of scoundrel Lord Hedwrett was. After that, Lilly ended her betrothal to Lord Hedwrett and set her mind on winning Mr. Morris (the hero in Breaking the Rules) back. Anyway, long story short, Edon and Robinson will help her with this task.

Now, if you read A Most Unsuitable Earl and His Reluctant Lady, you know what Edon and Robinson are like, and you know they’re not the most “mature” characters around. Personally, I love them and bring them back as often as I can because I have so much fun writing them. I’ve learned that my kind of humor doesn’t make everyone laugh because a lot of people find the humor to be immature.

Suffice it to say, if feisty heroines and my kind of Regency humor isn’t your thing, then you’ll want to avoid this series.

Wyoming Series (historical western romance)

[image error]  [image error] Either one or two books will be added to this series.

This series is a “Wild West” kind of series. These are primarily romance, but there are some gritty moments that take place, and some of those are graphic and violent. For anyone who’s read my Native American Romance Series (especially Restoring Hope and Brave Beginnings), you’ll know what I mean. I used violence in that series because the plots called for it. The plots in these books are the same way. The Outlaw’s Bride has one scene that gets pretty violent, but it takes place toward the end of the book. I just started The Rancher’s Bride this week, and the opening scene has the heroine stabbing and slitting the throat of a man who’s trying to kill her. I didn’t just tell what happened. I showed the event happen. So it’s that kind of violence. I expect the rest of the series to be this way due to the overall arc to the series, which is the need to get back a ranch from a man who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. So if violent scenes bothers you, you’ll want to skip this series.

A note about the three series:

These are all romances. The hero and heroine fall in love, and the romance is central to the stories. Without the romance, none of the stories exist. There is also a happy ending. Those are the core traits that define a romance, and all of these books will have them.

But, as you can tell from the way I described the three series I’m working on, each one has a different type of “feel” to them. I don’t know if you like the elements I described above or not.

Since I’m not sure what kind of romances will appeal to some of  you, I thought I’d send out a warning now so  you can mark down what books you don’t want to read. That way when the books comes out, you won’t be caught off guard. I’ve received some feedback from people who were shocked because they didn’t expect certain content in my books. I figured if I gave people a warning in advance, I’ll limit how many people will get upset.

There’s no sense in wasting  your time in reading something that doesn’t appeal to you. I have some authors where I only read certain books they write because not every book they write interests me. I’m okay if you don’t read everything I write. My tastes vary. I write a wide range of romances. Sometimes I’m in the mood to write light and funny. Sometimes I want to write something dark and serious. Sometimes I want to write something tender and sweet.

Ever since I went back to writing for passion, I’ve let my creative side go wherever it wants to. I’m not sure if people will like it or not, but I’ve found that doing this helps my mind to stay fresh with new story ideas. Plus, I don’t get burned out writing this way. I got burned out trying to stick with the same kind of romances all the time. Some authors can write the same type of stories and be fine. I’m not one of them.  I always put two characters together to fall in love, and they do have a happy ending. Those are the only two consistent thing in these books. Other than that, anything goes.

The Downside of Writing Fast

[image error]

ID 153106770 © Antonio Meza | Dreamstime.com

I should do a quick disclaimer here. The definition of “writing fast” will differ depending on who you talk to. So let me offer you my definition of “writing fast” for the sake of this post.

To me, “writing fast” is when an author writes 1-2 books a month. Then they publish those books as quickly as they can. This is called “rapid release”.

I write in the romance genre, and I’ve seen plenty of authors using the rapid release system. They’ll have a new release coming out about twice a month. It seems to be that these are novellas or novelettes. (In romance, 50,000 words is a full-length novel, though I’ve seen some people argue that a full-length novel in romance can be 45,000 words long. Novellas usually hover around the 20,000-30,000 word range. Novelettes are usually around 15,000 words in length.)

The shorter the book, the easier it is to finish it more quickly. This is why so many romances are under the full-length novel word count. This is fine. I see nothing wrong with shorter stories. The horror genre is notorious for short stories, and as long as the author does a good job of telling a satisfying story, all is good. It’s possible to write good quality stories that aren’t full-length. In fact, I would rather read a shorter book that keeps me turning the page than read a longer story that doesn’t.

So anyway…

The other day an author was talking about her plan to do a rapid release schedule. She was planning on a book every other week. She was also planning on spin-off series that would also be quickly written and published. Then she stated out how she was going to promote these books, etc, etc. The further I read into her plan, the more my eyes glazed over. I couldn’t even give you the details of her plan because I couldn’t wrap my mind around all the work she’s going to do. I assume she has an assistant because if she doesn’t, she’s going to burn herself out.

Do I believe it’s possible to write and publish a book every other week? Sure. I’ve seen enough authors do it. If the book is short enough, it’s totally possible.

But the question that keeps going through my mind is this: “Is it WORTH it?”

If an author hits a hot genre, knows how to market effectively, can produce work fast, and knows how to line up all the plot points and character types that are popular within that genre, they can make good money. I’ve heard of too many authors who’ve made “a six-figure income” a year doing this to think otherwise. Obviously, the strategy works.

But again, “Is it WORTH it?”

The answer depends on the author’s goals. If you’re writing to make money, then yes, it is worth it. This is the way to win at making money as a writer.

But what if money isn’t the main motive for writing? What if your main motive is the story itself? What if writing is like taking an enjoyable vacation where you get to stop and check out the sights, sit and talk to good friends, and eat a new, delicious meal? Would you want to rush that experience? For me, every book is a vacation. I don’t feel like I’m truly alive until I’m in the story. That’s not to say I don’t get a lot of enjoyment in real life because I do. Just as there are things you enjoy doing when you’re at home, there are also a lot of fun times you have on vacation. The beauty of the story is that there are no limits. You can go anywhere in any time period with anyone you want. The stuff you can’t do in real life doesn’t apply to the world of fiction.

So while God has blessed me with a great husband, kids, and friends, He’s also blessed me with an imagination that takes me on some of the best vacations I’ve ever been on. Vacations don’t take away your enjoyment of being home; vacations add flavor to the wonderful life you already have. There’s nothing as thrilling as being in the process of writing a story when everything is brand new since the characters take me through the story. I never know exactly where I’ll end up, and that makes things so much fun. And best of all, when I reread the story, I get to relive the great memories.

To me, the downside of writing fast is that the vacation is rushed. There’s not enough time to savor the experience. The more fun I’m having, the more reluctant I am to leave, and this is why some books end up being longer than others. Some books are meant to be shorter, though. Not every vacation is meant to be a long one.

For example, Fairest of Them All was so much fun that I ended up going into a subplot. That book ended up being 86,000 words when all was said and done. It’s one of my favorites. On the other hand, I enjoyed writing Forever Yours (which is 47,000 words long) so much that I had to go back and reread Eye of the Beholder and To Have and To Hold again because I really enjoy seeing the Larson family from Dave and Mary’s point of view. The reason Forever Yours was shorter is probably because it’s Dave and Mary’s third book. Dave and Mary are my favorite Larson couple, and I do feel like the third book completes their story. If you add up all three books, the word count is about 200,000 words. (Eye of the Beholder was about 80,000 words, and To Have and To Hold was about 73,000 words.) So that tells you how much I’ve enjoyed spending time with Dave and Mary. That all said, Forever Yours is their last book. There’s nothing else I can do with them. But I do feel that Forever Yours finally completes their story. One reason I do so many Larson books in general is that they are my favorite family to write about. I enjoy going on vacation to visit them. It’s always nice to run into old friends while meeting new ones.

So anyway, I’ve decided I don’t want to write fast. The rapid release schedule isn’t for me. That means I can’t focus on the money part of writing. This is the shift I made when I decided (almost two years ago now) that I was going to start writing for passion. I’m a lot happier. I’m no longer burned out. I love the stories I’m writing much more. I think what I’m doing these days is some of my best work. Not everyone agrees, of course, but we all have our different tastes.

I’m just going to continue taking my time and enjoying each story as it comes. My primary goal as a writer is to have fun. I want to go on vacations that excite me. Sometimes I want to laugh. Sometimes I want to feel the suspense of wondering what will happen next. Sometimes I want to delve into the heart of difficult topic. But in every vacation, I want to fall in love, and I want the happy ending.

For those of you who continue to join me on my vacations, I thank you. If it weren’t for you guys giving me your support and encouragement along the way, I would have given up a long time ago. There were times I wanted to walk away from it all, but someone would send me a message and remind me of what’s truly important when it comes to writing. You guys are the best!

Fairest of Them All is Now Available!

This is one of my all-time favorites.