Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 45
May 29, 2017
Updates
This is Book 3 in the Marriage by Bargain Series. (Book 1: The Viscount’s Runaway Bride, Book 2: The Rake’s Vow, Book 3: Taming The Viscountess, Book 4: If It Takes A Scandal)
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I getting this back from my editing team, and I am polishing it up as we speak. I should have it up for pre-order on Amazon soon. In the meantime, it is available for pre-order on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks, and you can add it to your library in Smashwords.
I finished the first draft of Forced Into Marriage!
This is the final book in the Pioneer Series. (Book 1: Wagon Trail Bride, Book 2: The Marriage Agreement; Book 3: Groom For Hire; and Book 4: Forced Into Marriage)
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This puts me on track to have this out in August. I’m not sure when in August yet, though. I know it says October 7 for the release date, but I’m ahead of schedule.
If It Takes A Scandal is halfway done!
This is the final book in the Marriage by Bargain Series. (Book 1: The Viscount’s Runaway Bride, Book 2: The Rake’s Vow; Book 3: Taming The Viscountess, and Book 4: If It Takes A Scandal)
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I would love to have this out in September, and I am trying to do everything I can to have it ready by then, but we shall see. However, it should definitely be out in or by October at the latest since I am halfway done with this one.
I’m in Chapter Four of The Bride Price
This is Book 1 in the Misled Mail Order Bride Series. (I plan on two other books in this series.)
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So far so good with the limited plotting I did, but then I was on chapter three when I plotted, so I had a springboard to go by. We shall see if this stays true to form. I can tell you already that a lot of the story changed from what I originally thought it was going to be just in writing the first three chapters. I will be posting a new description some time in June.
Meanwhile, be assured that this book does feature Sep from Shotgun Groom. At least that hasn’t changed.
I’m about 10,000 words into The Outlaw’s Bride
This is Book 1 in the Wyoming Series. (Book 1: The Outlaw’s Bride, Book 2: The Rancher’s Bride, Book 3: To Be Titled)
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Since this is the fourth book on my daily writing list, I average 250 words in this a day. Sometimes I will write 500-700 words. On other days, I’ll get 0 words in. So the average is turning out to be 250 words. My plan is for this to be out next June-August.
I will be starting Married In Haste This Week
This is Book 2 in the Marriage by Fate Series. (Book 1: The Reclusive Earl, Book 2: Married In Haste; other books to be announced)
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I’m looking forward to this because I think it will be a comedy. Remember Brad’s and Loretta’s younger brother, Stephen, who was a pain in the butt in The Rake’s Vow? I bring him back for a bit in Taming The Viscountess and If It Takes A Scandal. And I enjoyed his mischief so much, he’ll be causing more trouble in this one. This time, he will be giving Brad grief. But, I promise that Brad will end up very happy with the lady Stephen picks out for him. The heroine of this book is Ava (who is Opal’s best friend in The Reclusive Earl).
And I will finally get to start the crumbling of Lady Eloise’s group in this book. I was hoping to do that in the Marriage by Bargain Series, but the storylines never played out that way. This time, however, the process will begin. I’ve been wanting to take down Lady Eloise and her group since The Viscount’s Runaway Bride when I first introduced them.
May 24, 2017
Pioneer Series coming to an end, Married In Haste (Brad’s romance) will be next, and Trying my hand at plotting for The Bride Price
I hope to have this out in August since I’m ahead of schedule on it.
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I am only going to be able to show one scene with Joe and Michelle Otto. I had thought there would be more of those two characters in this book, but the story didn’t play out the way I had expected it to. I already knew there would be no room for Richard and Amanda Larson or Jesse and Laura Palmer. I hope this doesn’t disappoint you guys. I know one of the big perks of a series is seeing past characters.
It’s just that in this book so much of it is while the hero and heroine (Brandon and Lokni Herman) are on the trail that there’s not a chance to bring in a lot of people. I did place them in a town for a couple of weeks (in story time), but since Joe had dumped Brandon off in the Wyoming Territory and Brandon and Lokni had to stop along the trail for her to give birth to her son, there was no way I should slip it into the timeline for them to meet up with Joe’s wagon train. So that’s why it ended up being the way it is.
When I send Forced Into Marriage to my wonderful editing team, I will start Married In Haste (which is Book 2 in the Marriage by Fate series).
[image error]This book follows The Reclusive Earl, which is Book 1 in the Marriage by Fate Series. I think I have confused people by having two Regency series happening at the same time. I didn’t realize that would happen, but since all of my Regencies do take place in the same world, I see why it gets confusing. I have decided I won’t do that again. In the future, I will only work on one Regency series at a time.
Anyway, this is going to be Brad’s romance. Brad is Loretta’s older brother in The Rake’s Vow. I’m hoping to do two main things in this book. One, I want to make this humorous because I love to laugh, and I get a lot of fun out of writing comedy. With Brad’s quirky nature on being pristine and orderly while the heroine tends to be clumsy, I’m hoping this will make for a good foundation for humor. Two, I want to delve more into the breakdown of Lady Eloise’s group, Ladies of Grace. In Taming The Viscountess, I start this breakdown in a very subtle way. When Celia’s leaves the group, it will set off a chain of events that I’m hoping will start manifesting in this book. *fingers crossed*
I decided to try my hand at plotting.
And I’m experimenting with The Bride Price (Misled Mail Order Brides: Book 1).
[image error]Can I really do it? Is it possible for a panster to follow an outline done in advance (even if it is loosely done)? (I’d like to know if you plotters could ever panst a story, so if you are a plotter and you attempted it, I’d love to hear about it.)
I have a reason why I wanted to plot this particular story. I had to bounce ideas around with my friend and fellow author Stephannie Beman because I could not do it unless I had someone asking me questions along the way. Stephannie and I chat a lot online, and we share a lot of our writing struggles as we’re working on our stories. Just yesterday, she helped me figure out the best way to go in Forced Into Marriage.
I should add there are three things to note about the plotting I did. One, it’s more visual than what authors typically do. I wrote down phrases to get the main idea for a scene down and then “mapped” it out. So it’s visually appealing to the eye. I think this helped my creative brain work more in the process. Talking with Stephannie also helped the creative side since brainstorming is a creative process. Two, I made things vague. I am not going to do a step-by-step account of what I want to happen. I don’t know what the characters will want to do in detail when the scene comes. Three, I wrote the first couple of chapters before I even did the plotting. The reason I did this is so that I could get to know the characters. I usually know the characters within the first three chapters of any book I write. Once I know them, it’s a lot easier to proceed with the story. For example, I thought Sep didn’t want to get married. But as soon as I was writing the story, I realized he did. Until I’m in the character’s point of view, I honestly don’t know who they are.
May 14, 2017
Updates on What I’m Doing
Here are the books in the Marriage by Bargain Series:
The Viscount’s Runaway Bride (Book 1)
The Rake’s Vow (Book 2)
Taming The Viscountess (Book 3) – will be out next month
If It Takes A Scandal (Book 4) – will be out around September or October (though official release date is currently in December)
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I guess I should warn everyone that the heroine in this story has a more progressive view of sex than heroines I typically write. When I created Celia in The Earl’s Wallflower Bride, she was making fun of Iris over Iris’ lack of sexual experience. Because of this, I had to work with Celia from what I had already established.
Celia never went “all the way”, but she did experiment with one of her brother’s friends and she has read literature on the topic of sex. So we might consider her more sexually open than the heroines I usually write. I don’t know if this is going to upset you, but if it does, this might be a book you decide to pass up. She does not do anything with the hero until after they are married. The hero is a virgin in every sense of the word.
Forced Into Marriage is a little over halfway done
Here are the books in the Pioneer Series:
Wagon Trail Bride (Book 1)
The Marriage Agreement (Book 2)
Groom For Hire (Book 3)
Forced Into Marriage (Book 4) – I expect this to be out in August even though I have it down for October on the retailer sites
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I finally got to the point where the heroine has decided she wants to be with the hero. In this book, the two were forced to marry at gunpoint without knowing each other first. Remember in Wagon Trail Bride where Amanda Larson got pregnant after she was raped, but then I had her go through a miscarriage?
Well, the heroine in this book (Lokni from the Crow Tribe) starts out in this book in her ninth month of pregnancy, and she doesn’t know who the father is. There were four unsavory men who kept her for a while and did whatever they wanted to her. (I do not show this. I only allude to this. The story starts on the night she’s forced to marry the hero, Brandon Herman from Groom For Hire.) In this case, I opted to let Lokni have the child. The child is instrumental into bringing the hero and heroine together.
If It Takes A Scandal is about 1/3 of the way done
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As I mentioned above, I see this coming out in either September or October.
The heroine in this one is Lady Hedwrett (who was originally introduced in Her Counterfeit Husband). She is a very happy widow. I only briefly touched on how awful Lord Hedwrett was in The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife and Her Counterfeit Husband, and honestly, I don’t want to know more about this guy than what I already do because he really is the worst of the worst. Being a panster, I learn about characters as I write them, and there are some characters so dark that I don’t want to delve deeper into them. Just know that Lady Hedwrett has every reason to be glad he’s dead.
Anyway, I am veering off on a different course in this romance from what I have done in my Regencies up to this point. I am going to do a scenario where the couple is forced to marry and decides to live separate lives. They will be forced out in the country for three months by some matchmakers in order to overcome their misconceptions about each other. This is where I’m currently at in this story. It will be interesting to see how these two (who currently can’t stand each other) will deal with this.
I have finally started The Bride Price
This is the first book in the Misled Mail Order Bride Series. I don’t have titles for the other books yet.
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Currently, I’m at chapter 2. Sep (from Shotgun Groom) is about to find out there’s a man auctioning off the women he duped into coming to Omaha. I haven’t decided if it’ll be three or four women, so for the time being, I’m saying “three”. We’ll have to see how the story progresses. Part of the adventure of writing is finding out what happens next.
This one is set for November.
I am in chapter 3 of The Outlaw’s Bride
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Here are the books in the Wyoming Series:
The Outlaw’s Bride (Book 1)
The Rancher’s Bride (Book 2)
Not sure what Book 3 is called yet or if there will be a Book 4
This is the rewrite of The Stagecoach Bride, and Stephannie has taken the pen name Anne Johanson. I want to give her credit for creating the world with me, so I have added her pen name to the cover. But I am the one writing this, and I can already tell you, it is a lot different from the original.
For one, the hero and heroine are going to marry early in the story. Right now, I’m at the point where the heroine has agreed to marry him. Two, the heroine really is pretty, but she believes she is ugly because her family constantly told her she was. Three, Abby (the hero’s sister) is a bubbly and happy person, though she is still a good survivalist. She will hold a rattlesnake and is great at tracking others.
It’ll be fun to see what else develops as the story continues.
I’m not going to publish this book until The Rancher’s Bride is ready. I might or might not wait for Book 3 to be ready, too. I’m not sure if it’s worth it to wait for an entire series to be completed and publishing it at the same time or not, but it is something I’ve been wanting to try. (A lot of it depends on how well I’m able to write four books at a time instead of three like I usually do.)
May 8, 2017
The Reclusive Earl is Now Available!
I would have posted this yesterday, but my kids were unable to play outside because of the rain. Anyone who has kids know how restless they can get if they’re stuck inside. 
April 30, 2017
In Defense of the Panster
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Lately, it seems like pansters have been getting a bad rap. Since my husband had no idea what a panster is, I’m going to offer a quick definition. A panster is a writer who writes by the seat of their pants. They don’t plot. They just start writing. That aside, let’s get to my very long post. You can tell I’m passionate about this topic.
April 25, 2017
Updates On What I’m Doing
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You can pre-order your copy on these retailers:
This is the first book of a new series, but the heroine (Miss Opal Beaufort) was introduced in The Earl’s Wallflower Bride. Most of you have read that book. Opal was Warren Beaufort’s (Lord Steinbeck’s) sister, and she was the one who was pretending to be crazy. Her past does play a part in this story, but I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t say how.
April 20, 2017
Romance Books I’ve Done With Other Authors
I was surprised to learn some people didn’t know I had co-written The Stagecoach Bride with Stephannie Beman, so while I’m thinking about it, I thought I should mention the other romances I’ve done with other authors.
Before I do, I just want to give a quick reminder that The Stagecoach Bride will be removed from sale on Monday (April 24).
After that, it will never be available again unless you can find a stray paperback version somewhere on the Internet.
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Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords
I will be giving this a complete rewrite. The rewrite will be called The Outlaw’s Bride. (It will be free so no one who bought The Stagecoach Bride will feel like they’re buying two copies of the same story. This isn’t the same story, but the characters are the same and the world is the same.) The new version is expected to be released June-August 2018. And yes, I will be finishing the series.
Now for the other romances I’ve done with other authors…
I did one contemporary clean romance anthology with Catherine Lynn.
Barbara Joan Russell was a pen name I came up with when I thought I would write a good number of clean (ie. no sex) romances. Long story short, since late 2014 when I wrote the first draft, I haven’t written another clean romance since. I like the spicy content, so I don’t think clean is for me.
Catherine Lynn, however, does have more books, which you might enjoy. So if contemporary clean romance or cozy mystery is your thing, check her out.
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iBooks (it is there, but I don’t have the link, and I can’t figure out how to get the link.)
I did two historical western romance anthologies with Janet Syas Nitsick.
My stories in these do contain sexual content. Janet’s do not. She writes only clean historical western romances, and they do mention the Christian faith a lot. If those are the kinds of romances you enjoy, you might enjoy her books.
Book 1: Bride by Arrangement
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Book 2: A Groom’s Promise
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iBooks (it is there, but my link doesn’t work)
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About Google Play: Someone is probably asking, “Why does she have some books on Google Play but not others?” The books I have on Google Play were put there by my wonderful publisher, Parchment & Plume. I do not have an account there, and Stephannie Beman doesn’t have one, either.)
April 17, 2017
The Stagecoach Bride is Available For A Limited Time (So Grab Your Copy Now If You Want To Read It)
Over on Facebook, there were some people who said they never read The Stagecoach Bride. Long story short, I handed over the rights to this book to Stephannie Beman. She has graciously agreed to put the book back up for sale so you can get the original version now. Remember, I am rewriting this book. I bought the rights to the characters and the world, but I did not buy the original version.
Here is the original book:
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The original version is going to be available until April 24, so make sure to grab your copy now if you want to read it. After this, it will be taken down permanently.
(Since some people were surprised by the heat level in this book, it is spicier than what I typically do. Just a warning so people are prepared.)
I’m going to change the title of the book, the cover, and the series so there’s no confusion over which version is which.
I am going to do a massive rewrite of this book. It’s going to change about 50-75% of this book. I have Stephannie’s permission to do this. I am also going to finish the rest of the series. Since Stephannie created this world and the characters with me and will be adding historic flavor to the books, her name will be with mine on the author line.
Since I’m changing so much, I am going to give the book a brand new title, a new cover, and a new series name.
The new title will be The Outlaw’s Bride.
The new series will be the Wyoming Series.
The new cover will be featured here when Stephannie’s done making it.
I will add in the description that it’s a rewrite of The Stagecoach Bride to help offset any confusion.
I expect to publish the new version June-August of 2018. I will also be changing The Rancher’s Wife to The Rancher’s Bride, and yes, I will change that cover, too.
April 9, 2017
Updates On What I’m Doing
As usual, I have multiple books I’m working on at one time. It’s how I best write. If I try to only write one story, I freeze up and have trouble writing. I finally came across another writer who is the same way, so now I don’t have to feel like such an oddball.
April 1, 2017
Pet Peeves About Male Character Stereotypes
I figured since I did a post on how women are different, I should do one for men.
Here are my top pet peeves on stereotyping heroes…
Stereotype #1: Men are incapable of speaking long sentences. (In fact, it’s okay if he only grunts a reply.)
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This has to be my top pet peeve when it comes to stereotyping male characters in a book. I was part of a critique group once where the men were not supposed to speak more than a few words at any one time. This stems from the belief that men have a very little teeny tiny cup in their verbal arsenal. This means that men are born with a certain number of words they can speak in a single day. So when they run out of words, they are not capable of talking anymore. You need to just wait until morning when their little cup is full again.
Okay. I’m exaggerating, but I have heard this theory many times in the past. The idea is that women are natural talkers while men aren’t. So while a female character can talk all day long, the male character simply isn’t able to do this.
Anyone who’s read my work knows that my male characters like to talk, and they aren’t afraid to do so (unless they have something like a speech impediment).
The truth is, some men are capable of speaking in complete sentences. Not only that, but they can even ramble. I have a husband, father-in-law, and a son who can speak for hours if you let them. I get tired of talking way before they do. So yes, men are able to speak more than a little bitty cup’s worth of words in one day. This is not some strange phenomenon. It is possible. Maybe the man in your life doesn’t speak much, but the men in mine definitely do.
Now, no one wants to read a hero who’s rambling nonstop in the story. Dialogue should have a point. But keeping everything choppy and short can actually hinder the flow of the story…unless, of course, you’re pointing out some character trait or some health issue. Stuttering, a stroke, being extremely shy, etc, are all valid reasons to have your hero be a man of few words.
Stereotype #2: Men are obsessed with their stomachs.
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This is my top pet peeve #2. Yes, I’ve heard the saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” and I do think a man likes it when his wife is a good cook. Though I have something shocking to tell some people. Sometimes the man cooks better than the woman. Sometimes a woman isn’t any good at cooking, and for the sake of their taste buds (and sometimes their health), the man takes over the cooking. I knew a woman in college whose husband cooked and she cleaned up. Both were very happy with this arrangement. I know that’s not “traditionally” how things are done, but it really does happen.
Besides the above, I am a firm believer that men are capable of thinking beyond their stomaches. Their entire worlds don’t always revolve around the dinner table and what the little lady is making. When I read story where a man is obsessed with what’s on the table, I want to bang my head against the wall. I know. It’s a strong reaction to something so simple, but it just grates on my nerves. I don’t mind a man thinking, “Wow, that fried chicken smells great! I can’t wait to dig in!” But when he’s clutching his stomach in agony because he hasn’t eaten since morning, it’s going overboard.
Also, the mention of mealtime in every other chapter or so can get very boring very fast. Yes, people eat every day. I have boys who are quickly becoming teenagers and eating is about all they seem to do. But they don’t only fixate on food. They worry about their school work, they want to play video games, they hang out with their friends, and they look for ways to stay up later on a school night than they should. Their world is a lot of “food”, but it’s not 100% food 100% of the time. They do think of other things than their stomachs.
Stereotype #3: Men are large and in charge (in the bedroom).
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How many books have I read where men have this amazing ability to give a woman an orgasm no matter where they’re doing it? Seriously, I’ve lost count. The hero and heroine can be riding along in a carriage that is bumping all over the place, and yet, in the throes of passion, he manages to make her see stars. Now, I will believe she’s seeing stars because her head is hitting the side or top of the carriage, but I won’t believe she’s seeing stars because of an intense orgasm. Nor can I believe that a heroine who despises the hero can lose sight of all the things that drives her nuts because he’s so gorgeous, and when he takes off his shirt… Well, who needs a good personality when you have abs like that?
I threw out a book once because there was a couple based on this premise. The hero was a complete jerk. He was rude to the heroine on almost every single page of the book, and yet when he started kissing her (because there’s only one way he was going to get that heir), she forgot all about what a lying jerk he was and had the best sex of her life. Look, I don’t know about most women, but when I’m not being treated right, I don’t want to kiss some guy, let alone take off my clothes for him.
Sex begins outside the bedroom. It’s about treating our heroine right at all times and in all situations. It’s the tenderness in his touch when he helps her into a carriage. It’s about taking an interest in who she is. It’s about talking to her and being her friend. It’s about offering to do dishes or sweep the floor when she’s been doing stuff all day and she’s exhausted. It’s about changing the baby’s diaper. It’s about putting her needs before his own. Do couples fight? Sure. No one is perfect. But overall, what is the tone of the relationship? Does he put her first, or is he selfish? A hero who puts the heroine first is, by far, the best lover out there. He doesn’t have to be muscular. He doesn’t need a six-pack of abs. He doesn’t have to be tall. He doesn’t have to be drop dead gorgeous. He doesn’t have to be “oh so big” down there. He just needs to be the kind of sweetheart a woman can give her whole heart to.
Speaking of size… I only bring this up because apparently in the United States culture, being “big down there” is important. The average male penis is not what you would read in erotica or the historical romances from the 1980s. (Now, he can “look” big to a virgin heroine who has never seen a penis before. I’ll go with that. But I also think it’s not normal for her to be trembling in fear that he is going to rip her apart.) I remember reading a series of books by a certain author years ago, and every single hero was huge, and every single heroine was tight. It would always initially hurt for her (even if she wasn’t a virgin) because he was just so big (and sexy).
In reality, if all men were like this and if all women were like this, I can’t see many men having sex. Sex is not supposed to hurt. It’s supposed to feel good for both the man and the woman. If the woman is going to be in pain each and every time, then she’s not going to be inclined to keep doing it. Doing a quick search on the topic of penis size, I learned that the average erect penis is a little over 5 inches long. So this notion that sex has to hurt a woman is not quite what the erotic and romance novels would have you think. Of course, women are not all built the same, either, and some men will not take the time to get her ready for sex. So… that all only goes to emphasize how important it is for the man to put her needs before his own, doesn’t it? And if he’s a smaller than average, the good news is that women have a clit, and when stroked just right, she can still receive pleasure during the act.
So those are my top pet peeve stereotypes when it comes to male characters in stories. What are yours?
