Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 46
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?
March 21, 2017
I’m Taking Over The Wild Heart Series
I’m not sure how many of you remember The Stagecoach Bride (Wild Hearts Series: Book 1). Here’s the cover to help jog your memory:
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This book came out years ago. It was a co-written book between me and Stephannie Beman. (Stephannie Beman is one of my dearest friends and a fellow author. We met way back in 2008–I think.) She is one of the easiest and nicest people to work with.
Anyway, I had handed over the rights to her to complete this series. Recently, she has decided she would rather focus on fantasy and other genres. This series is a historical western romance series, and it doesn’t fit with where her passion for writing is leading her. (Passion is very important.) Since my heart is in romance (esp. historicals), I am going to take the series and work on it.
What this means for The Stagecoach Bride:
She has given me permission to rewrite this book. The basic plot will stay the same. The heroine will be on her way to marry the villain when the hero and his family intervenes. From there, I really can’t say what will happen. I don’t plot things out ahead of time. Until I get into the story, I don’t know how things will play out. What I do want to happen is for the family to get the boy who’s with the villain (as currently happened in the original story). I also plan for the heroine’s past to catch up with her and throw a wrench into the hero and heroine’s romance. But other than those two elements, I make no promises. So prepare for this book to be significantly changed.
What this means for Stephannie’s role:
Stephannie will still have a part in the series. When I finish up the first draft of each book, she will go over it and boost its historical flavor (she really does have a better handle of the time period than I do), and she’ll flesh out anything else I missed. So she will have a role in the series.
When will this series be relaunched?
This is probably the hardest question to answer to because I want to have both The Stagecoach Bride (Book 1) and The Rancher’s Wife (Book 2) ready at the same time.
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Most of you have already read The Stagecoach Bride. You will not have to pay for The Stagecoach Bride again. Stephannie is in the process of removing that book from sale so I can rewrite the book. Then when The Rancher’s Wife is ready, I will publish The Stagecoach Bride (for free) with The Rancher’s Wife (which I plan to make $2.99 USD). From there, I’ll work on Book 3 (not titled yet), and I’ll see if there should be a Book 4 or not.
As for when… I have other series I’m working on right now. The Marriage by Bargain Series will take until this summer or fall to finish. I should finish the Pioneer Series by late summer or early fall. I already have Book 1 (Sep’s story) for the Misled Mail Order Brides Series on pre-order, so that will take priority. I’ll still be working on the Marriage by Fate Series. I have started rewriting The Stagecoach Bride, but I’ll be taking it slow since my focus has to be on the other books already in pre-order.
Given the fact that I’m going to combine The Stagecoach Bride with the release of The Rancher’s Wife, next summer (2018) is the very soonest these two books will be ready. I might release The Stagecoach Bride a month earlier just to get people ready for The Rancher’s Wife, but we’ll see. If I could write fast enough to have the entire series out at once, I would. But alas, I can’t. Even for as fast as I go, I have my limitations.
March 18, 2017
The Rake’s Vow (Marriage by Bargain: Book 2) is Now Available!
Here are the books in the Marriage by Bargain Series:
Book 1: The Viscount’s Runaway Bride (Anthony and Damara’s story)
Book 2: The Rake’s Vow (Loretta and Tad’s story)
Book 3: Taming The Viscountess (Celia and Sebastian’s story)
Book 4: If It Takes A Scandal (Corin and Candace’s story)
Please Note: Loretta’s brother (Brad) will get his book in the Marriage by Fate Series. I will have The Reclusive Earl (Book 1) out in May. Brad’s book will be #2. So I hope to have his book out later this year. *fingers crossed*
That aside, here is where you can find The Rake’s Vow.
Here’s the description:
Thaddeus (Tad) Darkin, the Duke of Lambeth, used to be a rake. In fact, before Lord Edon was scandalizing the Ton, Tad was the one everyone was talking about. Many gentlemen secretly wished they had his charm with the ladies. All reputable ladies were warned to stay as far from him as possible, which only made him all the more attractive. Then, after a tragic event, he took a vow of celibacy, promising he would never be intimate with another lady again. Over the years, this caused him to be the most sought-after single gentleman in all of London. And even though he doesn’t want to marry, his steward left him in financial ruin, so whether he likes it or not, he must take a wife.
After being rejected by the gentleman she was hoping to marry, Miss Loretta Bachman is on a mission to save her reputation. She needs to marry someone who will impress the prestigious ladies in her social circle. So when she catches the leader of the group talking about the very handsome and hard-to-get Duke of Lambeth, she’s determined to get him to marry her. All she needs is a little bargaining power, and fortunately for her, she happens to have the money he needs to save his estate.
When she learns of his vow to remain celibate, she agrees to keep away from his bed. After all, her only reason for marrying him is to secure her social standing in London, not to have a love match. All she asks is that he pretends to be deeply in love with her when they’re in public. That way she will succeed in impressing the Ton. But before long, the lines between what is pretend and what is real starts to blur, and it’s hard to decide how far to push the limits of their agreement.
March 15, 2017
Women Are Different, So Heroines Should Be, Too
This post is a semi-rant. From time to time, it irks me that people think there is a one-size-fits-all heroine. (Actually, there is no one-size-fits-all hero or villain or secondary character or kid, either, but I’m going to speak specifically about heroines.)
How Women Are Different
Just like fingerprints, no two women are exactly alike.
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This entire post is based off a comment I recently received after someone read one of my books with a heroine who wasn’t in major pain after her first time of having sex. I don’t know why we have to assume every single woman on this planet will have a horrific first time. I didn’t. In fact, my first time didn’t hurt at all. But then, my husband and I took our time and I was able to get ready for him. I had no tearing, no bleeding, not even a sting of pain. Now, I have a friend who bled and was in pain for the first three times. Upon further questioning, I learned her husband didn’t take the time to get her ready for him. She and I are on polar opposites of the spectrum here in regards for a woman losing her virginity. There are definitely women that fall in-between our experiences.
Another example of how different women can be is in regards to the menstrual cycle. I am very regular, and I get cramps. Before I had kids my cramps would be at an 8 in pain on a 1-10 scale. After I had kids, the pain (thankfully) went to a 3. The same friend I mentioned above had no cramps at all. Ever. But then, she was not regular, so she didn’t know when she’d get her period and had times where she bled without a pad on, which proved to be embarrassing. Other women will fall somewhere between the spectrum. My friend and I are opposites on just about everything. And yet, we share a lot of common interests, which is why we get along as well as we do.
Another example is childbirth. My mom labored for 25 hours with me, and she let me know that every time I gave her a hard time when I was a kid. (That woman had the patience of a saint. I might have her body type and look like her, but I got my dad’s personality. The older I get, the more patient I am, but it has been a process.) Anyway, my mom said her labor pains were so bad that she took an epidural. (The woman had minor cramps before I was born.) I know women who went through natural childbirth and said, “It wasn’t that bad.” Now, I had scheduled c-sections with all of mine, so I’ve never been in labor. I can’t offer a comparison there. What I can say is that since having kids, my body was never same again. My skin is loose. It never did spring right back, and I have seen women who (without the need of a tummy tuck) looking like a model after having kids. (Which is sad when I give into the vain side of my personality, but as they say, “healthy mom, healthy baby is the most important thing”–and they’re right.) But, my point is that even in giving birth, women go through different experiences.
And if we go a step further in comparison between women, not all women have the same body types. Some are thin. Some are not. Some have small breasts. Some have large. Some are tall. Some are short. Some have thick, beautiful hair. Some have thinner hair that is hard to style because the hair has a mind of its own.
Go further than that, and you also see that women have different personality types. Some are more nurturing and would rather tend to the home life (think Mary Larson from Eye of the Beholder). I am nothing like Mary (except for her body type). I’m not that great of a cook, and don’t even ask me to make clothes because I don’t have the gift. I’m not really sure which heroine I best resemble out of the books I’ve written. There’s probably a piece of me in all of them in varying degrees, either through a part of the personality or the body type or the monthly cycle or in my first time, etc. Authors (and sometimes the people they know) do end up slipping in somewhere into the characters they write about, but no one character is 100% author.
But the point is, women are not all the same in their personalities. Some are outgoing. Some are shy. Some have a great sense of humor. Some are more serious. Some are optimistic. Some are pessimistic. Some tend to be leaders. Some tend to be followers. Etc. And there will be varying degrees of these personality traits in the spectrum. Not everyone is a total A personality type or a total B personality type. Most people fall somewhere in-between.
So what is the point to all of this?
The same heroine for every story will get boring over time, even if you vary the plot.
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I’m assuming most of the people reading this are writers, so I’m gearing this toward writers. Heroines should not all be the same. Unless your particular niche is geared directly for people who only want to read “one type of heroine”, I suggest you vary your heroines. They should look different. They should have different body types. They should have different personalities. They should have different experiences. They should have different interests. I don’t think each heroine should be a cookie-cutter character.
Will this mean you might end up with some people who like one heroine more than another? Of course, it will. Mary Larson is one of my most popular heroines, but there were people wished she had stood up for herself more. (Which she did in To Have and To Hold. The amnesia was the catalyst needed to get there, and she needed to do that with her mother.) A lot of people do not like Rose Larson (heroine in Catching Kent) because she’s “obnoxious, won’t leave Kent alone, and is selfish”. There are people who don’t like Harriett Larson (heroine in His Convenient Wife) because she’s “too pessimistic, won’t let anyone in, and is mean”. I have noticed that people how hate Rose love Harriett. And people who love Harriett hate Rose. So really, this is about the people reading the books and the type of heroine they are naturally attracted to.
When you write a book, you’re probably writing for a wide audience. You will never please everyone. You can’t write the one heroine who will please every single person who picks up your book. It’s impossible. My advice (for what it’s worth) is to write the heroine that is right for your particular story. You might have a plot that requires a strong female lead. You might have a plot that requires the hero to take more of a lead (for his own personal growth) that means the heroine has to rely more on him to solve the problem. You might need a heroine who needs a sense of humor about things (esp. if the book is going to have humor in it). The heroine, the other characters, and the plot needs to complement each other. Otherwise, you’re going to be trying to force a square peg into a round hole, and if you do that, the story will feel forced.
Right now you might be wondering, “What the heck does all of this have to do with the ranting you did above?” When writing your heroine, you might have opportunities to cover a wide variety of issues that impact women. We do have menstrual cycles to deal with. Some can have children and some can’t. (Speaking of which, not all women have morning sickness, which I know is something that is expected. Some women even end up on bedrest while others–like me–was mowing lawns and carrying heavy boxes during pregnancy without any problems.) Just take into consideration the complexity of women when you’re writing heroines. We do not all look the same. We don’t all think the same. We don’t all have the same experiences. Granted, not all books will need you to get that “personal” with your heroine, but in romance, personal issues often come up and can be used to create a more complete character.
So the bottom line is this: dare to make your heroines different.
March 12, 2017
Giveaway Winners Announcement
I used random.org to come up with the winners for the paperback giveaway, and here they are:
Patricia Schuette
Ann Whisenhunt
Jeanie Vicente
I’ll be sending you three an email today. 
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