Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 5

Storytelling Device: You do NOT need all five senses in every single scene

Over ten years ago in a critique group I attended, the big thing was: “You need ALL five senses in every scene. That’s the only way you can possibly immerse the reader into the story.”

Now that I have 15 years of self-publishing experience under my belt (if you don’t count vanity presses from back in the day), I have learned that trying to cram all five senses into every scene will pull a reader out of the story.

Imagine a scene where the dying father in a hospital is ready to reveal the family legacy to the son who is being pursued by the mafia when–to add more senses to the scene–the son hears a bird or the son notices the smell of the hospital food or the son feels the rough fabric of his pants. It’s stuff like this that will pull a reader out of the story.

The alternative would be to introduce everything immediately in a scene, right? No. The best thing you can do at the beginning of a scene is to hook the reader into it what is happening to the character emotionally. The stuff the character touches, tastes, hears, sees, or smells is secondary… unless the sense in question leads to the character’s emotional response.

For example, The rose scented perfume brought him back to a time in childhood when his mother would rock him to sleep after a nightmare. We know from this that the smell is comforting to him. The comfort is an emotion. Considering he is about to see his father who is on his deathbed, choosing this particular sense and the emotional response at this specific moment adds to the story nicely. It ties into a time when he is losing his father.

But if you start the scene with something like the following example, then the reader is probably going to think, “So what?” Here is the example: He sneakers squeaked on the hard tile of the bright hospital corridor. His nose wrinkled. Even the flowers from the gift shop couldn’t mask the sharp aroma from the cleaning supplies used to keep the place sterile. All are okay, but do they really address the emotional state this character is in? And how would the hospital environment matter to the story, which is a mafia thriller? The character is going to spend the majority of this novel running for his life because the mafia is going to be tracking him down since he knows the secret.

Also, there’s little point in info dumping the senses while the son is in the middle of the scene where he is learning the secret.

For example…

He leaned forward to hear what his father had to say over the man’s raspy breathing. His father had urged him to come down here at once, saying that this was a matter of life and death. He braced himself for what was to come. The untouched vegetable soup nearby was barely noticeable over the cleaner that permeated the room.

“There is a man you need to watch out for,” his father forced out. “His name is Leo Vitale.”

Leo Vitale? He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like that name had a familiar ring to it. But when had he heard it? And why? The sunlight pouring through the open blinds caught on his watch. He had to pull back his hand to the cool texture of his jeans to stop the glare.

“I’m the only one who knows what Leo did two months ago,” his father continued. “I couldn’t go to the police. With his political ties, they’ll never arrest him. He’s capable of many things. Many are afraid of him. You need to go to the FBI and tell them what happened that night.” His father coughed and struggled for his next breath.

He hurried to give him something to drink. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear this. Undoubtedly, this was going to put him in jeopardy–just as it had his father. A nurse passing by hummed the familiar commercial jingle of the coffee he had just had that morning, a coffee with a taste that still lingered on his tongue.

His father took a shaky breath then proceeded to say, “This is what I saw that night.”

I crammed in the senses into a tight spot in this example, but I wanted to keep it brief so that it wouldn’t take up too much of this post.

I hope you get my point. I don’t see why four of those five senses I just used in that example matter. The father having trouble breathing and hearing how raspy matters because we’re emphasizing that he’s near death. Using senses is good, but you want to pick and choose the ones that add to the scene. You don’t put anything in that will detract from it. The bright sunlight, the cool jeans, the nurse humming, the smell of soup, and the small room do not matter. When the reader thinks back on the scene, you want the reader to remember the main character’s dread, the father’s death, and the secret the father reveals to him. Keeping the scene focused helps to maximize the emotional power of the scene.

Not all scenes are going to be this emotional. Some are transition scenes. Even in those, you don’t want to bog the reader down with useless details. You want to keep the pace flowing smoothly.

Let’s say the main character leaves the hospital. This would be a transition scene:

His stomach lurched as he hurried to his red Toyota. He was supposed to be an ordinary man, just living his ordinary life. The safe and familiar world he was used to suddenly seemed unstable. He fumbled for the key in his pocket. The cool metal brushed against his fingers as he pulled it out. He glanced around. Was he being watched? Did Leo have his men stalking him right at this moment? Nearby, a bird sang a sweet melody from a cherry giving off a vanilla fragrance that wafted on the breeze. His hands shaking, he struggled to insert the key into the lock. After a moment, he managed to unlock the door and slip into the car. Only once he was inside the car did he feel somewhat safe.

I managed to insert all five senses in there, but did it matter that his car is red or that it’s a Toyota at this point in the story? (Maybe it’ll matter later if he needs to find it amid a bunch of cars when he’s in pursuit, but it doesn’t matter right now.) What matters is that he’s scared. Does it matter what his key feels like? (It might later if he’s in the dark and needs to retrieve it amid contents in a box, but that would only need to be disclosed later in the story. It doesn’t matter right now.) Does it matter that a bird is nearby? Does it matter what kind of smell is coming from a nearby tree? (The bird and tree have no impact at all on this story since we’ll never deal with these two things again. All these two things do is add useless filler to the story.)

Basically, you only need to add a sense in the scene when it means something to the story. When the character needs to be aware of it, it’s a good time to bring it into play. Otherwise, it detracts from the story.

I’m not saying I always did things this way. I made a lot of mistakes in my writing over the years, and adding too many senses was one of them. As I write more books, I have been developing an appreciation for the subtleties that is inherent in storytelling.

My rule of thumb is to be the character. Look at everything in the scene from that character’s standpoint. What matters most to the character? What would this specific character notice? How would this character react to something? Why does this character care or not care? It’s not our job as the author to tell a reader what to think or feel by inserting things that don’t belong there. Our job as the author is to get into the character’s point of view so we let the reader know what the character is thinking, what the character is noticing, and what the character is feeling.

And quite frankly, being this deep into the characters is what makes writing the story a lot of fun. We get to leave ourselves behind and live other lives. Then, what makes it even better, is that the reader will come along and be inside these characters. So really, storytelling is a shared venture between the writer and the reader. To maximize the effectiveness of this venture, it’s important to focus in on the aspects that truly matter to the characters you’re writing.

What I Write and Why

I write Christian romances where the husband and wife have sex.

Most of the time my characters start out as Christian. If the characters don’t start out as Christian, they become one by the end of the story. I don’t come out and state this because I am not a fan of “preachy” stories, but that is what happens. So if a character prays or says “God”, they mean God reverently, not as slang. Some storylines require more emphasis on Christian content than others. For example, if a character is in need of redemption but feels it’s out of his reach, I will introduce God into the story because that’s what is needed for the character. If a character is a preacher, then that will tilt things in a more spiritual direction during the course of the story.

What I don’t want to do is treat my stories like a Sunday sermon. I would rather have the characters act and talk in ways that demonstrate their faith. There will be times when they fall. (There would be no plot if they were perfect.) But they will strive to live the Christian life by the time the story ends. I like to think that mercy and grace are part of the happy ending.

I realize I don’t write for everyone. This puts me in a niche, and that’s fine. There are a ton of secular romances that are steamy and a ton of secular romances that are sweet (no sex). There are also a ton of Christian romances that are sweet (again, no sex). Those groups are covered very well in the romance genre. I started writing and publishing books because, as a married Christian woman, I wanted to read romances where the husband and wife are having a fun and enjoyable sex life.

I still have not come across a Christian romance author except for Carolyn Davidson and Rose Gordon who write the kind of romances I do. (And unfortunately, I don’t think those two authors are writing anymore.) I have read authors who’ve done some books where sex was within marriage, but then characters are having sex outside of marriage in their other books. I want an author who keeps it consistent. If such an author exists, I would be thrilled to read their work, so please let me know if you found one.

I want sex only within marriage between the hero and heroine. I don’t mind if characters are tempted because being tempted is something a lot of people deal with. Sometimes we fall to temptation in this world. I would like the process of forgiveness and repentance to be addressed in this scenario, followed by doing things the right way. I want sex to mean something to these characters. I don’t like how casual sex has become in the culture.

I understand this is a sensitive topic for a lot of people, but I also have learned that there are other people like me out there, and I am thankful for those of you who have contacted me so I know I’m not alone. If this isn’t your cup of tea, you know to avoid me. If, however, this is what you’re looking for, I will keep on writing romances where the hero and heroine wait for marriage to have sex.

A Change to the Series Format for The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride (The Phase of Burnout Needs an End so I Can Move Forward)

This morning as I was on my way back home after dropping my kid (who wasn’t able to get his driver’s license) off at work, I made a decision about the Marriage by Obligation Series. I am going to end it at Anyone But the Marquess. I will adjust the blog/my website, update the back matter of Anyone But the Marquess, and modify The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride’s book cover next week to reflect this change.

I am knee-deep in editing The Wilderness Bride this week, so I can’t do it now. I need to have The Wilderness Bride ready for my editing team by December 1, and I just finished the first draft. This week is dedicated to going through initial edits, so I can hand over the second draft to my team.

So basically, this decision boiled down to my burnout phase. Except for Anyone But the Marquess, I wrote the Marriage by Obligation Series during my burnout phase. Now that I have my enthusiasm for writing back, I want a fresh start. Anyone But the Marquess was my 100th romance.

Looking back, I wish I had taken a longer break as soon as I needed it. The problem was in knowing when the burnout started, but when I realized it was there, I should have pushed back my publishing deadlines. If I had done that, I might not look at a few of the books I wrote and think, “I could have done better.” I hate admitting that in public, but maybe it’s good to get this out of the way.

I need a fresh start, and this is a good time to do it. I just finished writing The Wilderness Bride, and since it is my 101st romance, I’m going to think of it like it’s my 1st book.

And The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride is going to start a new Regency series that I am going to name Marriage by Chemistry since it is going to feature that love potion a couple of gentlemen are working on. I want a clean break from the Marriage by Obligation Series. Secret Admirer and Worth the Risk are not my strongest books. I hate to say it, but it’s true. I was at my lowest points in burnout while writing them, and it shows. Ironically, I am very happy with Midnight Wedding and The Earl’s Jilted Bride which also came out during my burnout phase.

That’s not to say every book I wrote before my burnout phase was the best work I ever produced. Out of 100 books, there are going to be ones that are better than others. That’s just the way things go. Writers aren’t going to get it perfect. There will be mountains and valleys in this journey. It’s just the way life is. But there is no point in getting stuck in the past. You can’t change what has already happened.

The best thing is to move forward. Embrace the stuff that is coming.

So that is why I’m making The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride the first book in the Marriage by Chemistry Series.

A Book Intended to be Read Twice

I am almost done writing The Wilderness Bride. This book is due out in January. I don’t have a release date yet. I don’t think I’ll have one until the middle of next month when I’m further along in the edits.

I have about four or five scenes left to go. This comes as a huge relief since I have a deadline of December 1st to get this book out to my editing team, which means I have to go through the first rounds of edits before I can send it to them. Next week, I’ll be knee-deep in edits. It’s a good thing I enjoy this book.

So anyway, I really do love this book. This is my 101st romance, and this is easily my Top 10 favorite stories I’ve written of all time. With a story like this, you don’t want things to end. It’s similar to Eye of the Beholder and His Redeeming Bride in tone and feel.

Up front, we know the backstory for our heroine. I looked for the optimal place to put the hero’s backstory in, and it came pretty much at the end. Now, I knew going into the story what his history was, so I was able to insert things into the dialogue that had are interpreted one way the first time you read it and will take on a different meaning if you read it again.

I really enjoy things like this. I don’t get to play with this kind of literary technique often, but it’s fun when I do. The story that comes to mind that I managed this strategy was in The Wedding Pact (a Regency), but that only occurred in one scene when the hero and killer were talking in a carriage. In this book, I was able to do it through a good portion of the story.

This technique makes me think of a couple of movies I’ve seen that I have watched differently a second time than I did the first time watching it. A movie had to be written. Someone had to add something toward the end that changed the way I perceived the movie upon a second time watching it.

Now, I don’t think it has to be the “twist” that does this. It could be. In the movie, The Sixth Sense, the twist was the factor that made you view the movie a completely different way when watching it a second time. For anyone who didn’t see it, it’s knowing Bruce Willis’ character is dead when you thought he was alive. (After finding that out, you can’t view the movie the same way when you watch it again.) I enjoy examining the differences from what “appears to be” to “what actually is” going on, and it’s why I will watch it again in the future. Stuff like that inspires my own writing. The Wilderness Bride, it’s not a twist. It’s just an added layer of information.

But that is what has made this story a lot of fun for me to write, and it’s why it’s one of the Top 10 favorites.

SWOT for Your Author Business

I have a son who is taking a business class at the community college in town, and through a conversation with him, I was introduced to a concept called SWOT. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. After watching a couple of videos on this concept, I got an idea for a blog post, which is what brings me here today.

Regardless of whether you are writing for passion or to market, I think SWOT can help you figure out the best opportunities that will help your author business. (Just because you write for passion, it doesn’t mean you aren’t operating a business.) I believe that by taking an honest look at our strengths, weaknesses, and threats, we can incorporate opportunities to help us thrive. And I’m going to take things a step further by adding that doing this will give us an action plan. This action plan will take us from where we are now to where we want to be.

Obviously, this is not a one-size fits all plan. This is going to be unique to your own author business. But it does require you to be brutally honest with yourself. If you are having problems detecting your strengths and/or weaknesses, I recommend consulting others who know you and your work well enough to give you feedback. The people you consult need to be people who are comfortable telling you the truth. It does you no good to only talk to people who are only going to praise you. Yes, praise is wonderful. I love it as much as the next person, but we also need to be open to areas in our author business that needs work. Without that work, we have no action plan. So if someone is willing to tell you the truth, be gracious about taking their feedback. (Note: the feedback does need to be respectful. The people should not be rude. There is a difference between, “It would be helpful if you posted to links to all of the wide retailers instead of only Amazon” and “Everyone knows that you need to post links to wide retailers if you’re not in KU. So why aren’t you doing that already?”)

Alright, with that said, I’m going to bring in an author I’m making up for our case study. (I am not pointing to anyone I personally know. If you find yourself somewhere in here, it’s a coincidence. Once in a while, I’ll have someone ask me why I mentioned them in a post when I didn’t even know about them, so I thought I’d get this out of the way right now.)

Our Author Profile

We’ll name this author John Smith. John writes technological thrillers with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI). He loves his work. He is a great in-person seller for his books since he has a dynamic personality and loves talking to people. However, his online sales aren’t what he wishes they would be. He does have a small, loyal readership, but he would like to expand his reach. His website, however, is in good working order and appealing to the eye, although he does not have an email list. He has his books in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. Other authors in his genre manage to sell much better than him, even though his books have covers and content that is up to par with them. With technology constantly evolving, he struggles with keeping up with the latest trends. He is able to write a decent amount of words when he sits at the computer, and he is able to publish three full-length books for his ongoing series in a year.

So let’s look at some of his strengths.

He loves what he writes. He is good with in-person sales. His website is up to working order. He is able to write and publish three books a year, which helps to keep up his inventory. He also writes in a series. Series often sell better overall than standalones.

Now let’s take into account some weaknesses.

His online sales is lacking. He doesn’t have an email list. He doesn’t keep up with the latest technological developments.

I want to look at threats before opportunities because I believe the threats (combined with strengths and weaknesses) lead to opportunities. A threat is really a look at the competitor. (Yes, I know other authors aren’t “competitors”, but in the business world, that is how they are viewed.)

Other authors in his genre are doing better than him with their sales. Also, technology is advancing all the time, and this will impact the content of his books. (If he doesn’t know of something and a reader does, that can lead to a poor reading experience and potentially lose him readers, even the ones he currently has.)

With all of these in mind, let’s look for some opportunities to get him from where he is now to where he wants to be. This is not an exhaustive list. I’m just giving some ideas to show you how to generate opportunities for your own author business.

1. Since he is good with in-person sales, he can make business cards with a QR code to direct people to his website where they can find ebooks and audiobooks if they can’t afford (or even if they don’t read) paperbacks. He can create an email list. At in-person events, he can collect emails. Online, he can have an email list sign up form.

2. To help generate online interest, he has some options open. In addition to the email list, he might consider creating a You Tube channel where he reads a couple of his books (or posts his audiobook version of those books). He might want to try a First Book in a Series Free book and then pay to advertise that book to get online readers informed about the book, and to hopefully, get so excited about his work that they’ll want to buy more of his books. He can post small snippets featuring recurring characters in his series to his email list or on his website (through a blog) or even to share on You Tube. These snippets would be something not included in the books. They would be between 1,500 to 3,000 words long. And he could try this once a month, or as his creativity allows.

3. He can join other authors who write in his genre to do in-person events, online newsletter swaps, co-writing opportunities, or sharing content on You Tube. Readers of any given genre don’t only stick to one author. The key here is to find authors who write the same type of books.

4. Once a month, John can sit down to do some research on the latest technological trends so he can keep current in his work. This way, his work will be stronger, and he’ll probably even get more story ideas from it.

***

As I said, that is not an exhaustive list, but it’s enough to show you what I’m getting at. If I were talking to John, I would recommend focusing on 1 of the 4 opportunities for 3-4 months. He might even need a full 6 months to get traction in one of these areas. The idea isn’t to do everything at once. I believe the best approach is to take one thing at a time, and you want to start with the one thing that most appeals to you.

Then in half a year, examine your progress. Are things better? If so, keep it up and try a second opportunity (or action plan). If things aren’t better, drop that thing you were trying and pick something else. The beauty of SWOT is that it’s flexible, and it works with you.

November Historical Romance BookFunnel Promo

For those of you who are on BookFunnel, I’m happy to announce that I have a Regency and a historical western to share with you for November. I probably won’t run anything in December since I’ll be focused on getting a new book ready for publishing in January. But this is a slower month where I don’t have a lot going on, so I have time to join and share a promo.

Here are the two books I’m giving away on BookFunnel for November:

I assume everyone reading this knows what these books are about since they’re relatively new, and I’ve mentioned them quite a bit on this blog. In case you aren’t familiar with them, I do have descriptions up on the book pages if you click on them in the promo.

Here is the link to the promo!

If that doesn’t work, here is the direct url: https://books.bookfunnel.com/novemberfreehr/d2j42iew68

Anyone But the Marquess is Now Available!

It’s been a long time in coming, but it’s finally here. I appreciate everyone’s patience with this one.

So I introduced Felix (Lord Roland) in Midnight Wedding.

For those who’ve read the book, you’ll remember that Felix is Miss Lydia Hamilton’s brother. They were in a hurry to get out of London because Felix had just ruined Lady Elizabeth’s reputation, and Lady Elizabeth’s brother wanted to kill Felix. If you haven’t read the book, I’ll stop the explanation now. I don’t want to spoil things. But I will say that the events that took place in Midnight Wedding lead to Anyone But the Marquess.

In Anyone But the Marquess, Felix will step in to do the right thing. He will marry Lady Elizabeth because her reputation is in ruins. Lady Elizabeth, however, is not happy with the arrangement and hates him. Felix feels guilty for what he did but doesn’t know how to make things right. So this is an enemies to lovers romance on Elizabeth’s end.

Felix is our hero, but he isn’t attractive. In fact, it was his unattractiveness that made Elizabeth say no when he asked her to dance at a ball, and this event happened “off page” pre-Midnight Wedding. But it did lead to everything that happens in this book, so it’s a relevant fact. I actually enjoy working with a non-attractive main character from time to time because it’s always fun to see how they evolve to being attractive in the eyes of the other main character.

The tone is tender and sweet, and there is some humor thrown in once in a while. Both characters are virgins, and there is one sex scene. However, my personal favorite part of this book comes at the very end when we have the “heroine is expecting” scene. In fact, this is my favorite “expecting” reveal scene of all the books I’ve done because of the hero’s reaction.

Enough rambling. If this sounds like your kind of book, it’s available at these places:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Apple

(I am going to get this in audio on Apple as soon as I can.)

Google Play (ebook)

Google Play (audiobook)

Smashwords

Everand

Radish

*If I missed a store that you like to buy ebooks from, please let me know. I’ll see if I can add the link to that store in the future.

Updates on What I’m Doing

I’m happy to say that Anyone But the Marquess is now on pre-order

Books in the Marriage by Obligation Series:

more to come

It’s due out October 17. I’ll do the official blog post with the description and links at that time, but if you would like to reserve your copy now, I do have a link to a page on this blog where you can do so.

I am glad I didn’t give up writing on this book. I almost did because the burnout was so bad, as most of you know. I am very happy with the way this book turned out. In fact, I am very happy with everything I’m currently writing, too. It’s like I have a new well of creativity to draw from. I’m excited to write again, and I hate days when I can’t get to the computer. It feels good. I haven’t felt this way since 2015.

***

I believe I am not over the halfway point of The Wilderness Bride

This is going to be one of my favorites. It has a lot of tear-jerk moments similar to Eye of the Beholder and His Redeeming Bride. I hesitated to tackle an issue like a mother who can’t keep her baby and therefore wants to commit suicide (only she’s too afraid to go through with it), but it’s turning out to be a story that has been extremely satisfying to write. This needed to be a romance. The heroine needs to be loved by someone (who will be our hero) and to eventually have a child she can keep. Only a romance will guarantee that kind of turnout. I figure I haven’t spoiled anything because, as romance readers, we know there is the happy ending. We know the hero and heroine end up together. Given her pain, she needs a baby. So just know going in that things will work out for her.

I don’t have a title or cover for Book 2 yet, but I have the plot. More on that in future posts.

***

Yes, I changed the cover again.

I think I’ve said this before about the covers I’ve done on this book, but I really think this one is going to stick. (We can only hope, right?)

So far there are two books in the Love Under Desert Skies Series:

I believe I am approaching the halfway point. Our characters are still tracking down two dangerous bandits, and our heroine is starting to figure out which of the two men she prefers. I can’t say too much because that would spoil things. At the moment, these characters have stopped in the last town they’ll see for some time, so they are having a quiet moment (so to speak) before they enter the desert where I expect things to get really fun. I’m going to introduce a new character who will have a main role in Book 3 (which I don’t have a title for yet), I will separate out some of these characters after a shootout with those dangerous bandits, and I’m going to do my best to bring in a scorpion. After putting one into Tagalong Bride, I thought it would be fun to have another one show up in this book. If I remember, I’ll put one in Book 3, too. Sometimes it’s fun to have a running gag in a series.

***

This one is off to a good start

This is Book 6 in the Marriage by Obligation Series. It follows Anyone But the Marquess.

I can tell this is going to be a fun book to write. I am setting things up right now for the “big reveal” moment, but I can’t have the big reveal until the time is right. So here’s the setup:

Adam (Lord Dayton) makes his living two ways: he gets hired to play a role, such as disguising himself as a servant in a household to track down a thief among a gentleman’s household staff, and he dons another disguise as actor Jefferson Crowdy. In this case, we are interested in him as the actor.

Miss Emma Ludlow has dreams of being a playwright but knows a lady won’t reach success like a gentleman would. Her brother, Percy Ludlow, pretends to be the one writing her plays.

Before the two meet, Adam reads a script from “Percy Ludlow” and thinks it’s too juvenile to recommend to the theatre, so he refuses to endorse it. Word gets back to Emma that Jefferson Crowdy rejected her play. At first, she’s depressed. Then she gets angry at Jefferson.

Meanwhile, we have a matchmaking friend who arranges for Emma and Adam to meet. Adam thinks he’s heard the name “Ludlow” before, but he can’t imagine where. (It’s funnier this way for the sake of what follows in later chapters.) Anyway, Emma and Adam hit it off and are in love. They have to be in love at this point, or else when the big reveal happens, it won’t have the same impact.

I’m only at Chapter Four, so there’s a lot more to do. Believe me, Emma is not going to be happy when she finds out Adam is really Jefferson. Sparks are going to fly.

Christmas with Lord Toplyn (Logan) (Bonus Scene Featuring Logan and Melissa from Ruined by the Earl)

Today, I thought it would be fun to write a scene where we see what Christmas with Logan and Melissa is like. These two characters had their romance in Ruined by the Earl. (Ruined by the Earl is Book 3 in the Marriage by Deceit Series.)

This story takes place December 25, 1822. The setting is Logan’s country estate. At this point, Logan and Melissa have four children. Matthias is now 5, Jerry is 4, Charles is 2 (will be 3 in January), and Joshua is nine months old. (I thought it fitting to give this couple quite a few kids since Logan kept talking about having them during the course of the book. And honestly, he really wanted to have kids, so this is part of his happy ending.)

Again, please note this is a first draft post. It is purely for entertainment purposes. I am not publishing this in a book, so there’s no need to comment with any errors you find. Let’s just have fun with this. We’re enjoying a peek into this couple’s happily ever after.

***

Logan packed down the snowball in his hand then gave it to his brother, Geoffrey. He pointed to the snowman Matthias and Jerry had helped him make. “The goal is to hit Malcolm the snowman.”

Geoffrey rolled the snowball in his hand. “Malcolm bad.”

“Well, I don’t know if I would bad.” Logan couldn’t have Geoffrey saying that in front of Melissa. Melissa wouldn’t like that. Malcolm was, after all, her brother, and Logan owed it to her to be respectful of him. However, he couldn’t act as if he was happy whenever the gentleman was around. “Malcolm is not like us, Geoffrey. He doesn’t take time to have any fun. He spends all of his time worrying about money. I mean, I like money as next as the next gentleman, but I don’t obsess over it like he does. Do you know what Melissa said he’s doing today?”

Geoffrey shook his head.

“Melissa said Malcolm invented some kind of game about finances that he’s giving his own children as Christmas gifts,” Logan replied. He had been shocked when Melissa told him about it, but saying it aloud seemed to make the situation much worse. It was a good thing he and Melissa had given the poor children actual toys that they could enjoy. “As if the books and lectures he gives them isn’t bad enough.”

“Malcolm bad,” Geoffrey repeated.

“Well, maybe one could say he’s bad at knowing how to let children have fun.” Yes, that would work. Melissa would agree with that statement. So if she caught Geoffrey saying Malcolm was bad, he could use this as a suitable explanation. He patted his brother on the back and pointed to the snowman. “All right, now see if you can hit him.”

Geoffrey gave a nod then threw the ball.

It missed. But it came close.

“I bet you can get the next one,” Logan hurried to encourage him so he wouldn’t give up. He scanned the area and saw Matthias and Jerry making snow angels. “I thought you two were going to make a lot of snowballs. We can’t defeat the snowman without your help. If we don’t defeat him, he’ll ruin Christmas, and you won’t get your Christmas presents.”

Matthias and Jerry immediately stopped playing in the snow and hurried to make more snowballs. He had decided not to tell his sons that the snowman really represented Malcolm. Word of that would get back to Melissa, and after she caught him and Matthias throwing darts at Malcolm’s portrait a while back, he learned that it was best not to upset his pretty little wildflower.

Matthias was the first one to come up to them with a snowball, and Jerry soon followed. “When do we know we won?” Matthias asked.

“When the snowman’s head falls off, we’ve won, and Christmas is safe for children everywhere,” Logan replied as he patted down one of the snowballs. He handed it to Geoffrey. “Cheer him on, lads. It’ll fill him up with Christmas spirit, and that will help him hit the evil snowman.”

“Malcolm bad,” Geoffrey repeated and threw the snowball.

This time he hit the snowman in the abdomen.

The four cheered.

Logan gave him the second snowball. “Try to his it in the face this time. We can’t open up presents until we knock its head off.”

Geoffrey repeated, “Malcolm bad.”

As he threw the snowball, Logan saw Melissa coming out to them. Joshua was in her arms, and Charles was running next to her as fast as his little legs could take him.

The snowman’s head fell off, and Geoffrey, Matthias, and Jerry gave out a loud cheer, followed by Matthias yelling, “Christmas is saved!”

Logan gave his excited brother another pat on the back. “Good work, Geoffrey. Now we have banished all things boring and dull from our midst.”

Melissa reached them, a puzzled look on her face. “I thought you all came out to build a snowman, not to destroy it.”

Before the others could give the truth away, Logan slipped his arm around her waist. “There’s my sparkling snowflake.” He kissed her. “We were just waiting for someone to come out and tell us it’s time to open up the presents. We made the snowman and got bored.”

“Malcolm not have fun,” Geoffrey told her.

Logan shot him a panicked look. Sometimes Geoffrey remembered things too accurately. Noting the way she arched her eyebrow at him, Logan chuckled and squeezed her waist. “My darling heart, even you have to admit that the presents Malcolm is giving our nephews isn’t right.”

She sighed. “I agree that giving Leonard and Harry financial books and making up financial games for them to play when they’re still young is absurd. No child has fun with things like that.”

Glad to have the matter resolved so easily, he said, “That’s what Geoffrey meant by Malcolm not having fun. Can you imagine if we tortured our precious little ones that way?”

“The evil snowman is dead,” Matthias cheered. “Ready for presents!”

“Presents!” Jerry agreed and bolted for the manor.

Charles tugged on Logan’s breeches, so Logan bent down to swoop him up in his arms. “I think we’ve been out here long enough. Come on, Geoffrey. Mother has everything ready in the morning room.”

“Ride horse?” Geoffrey asked as they headed for the manor.

Logan inspected the sky. While it was cloudy, he didn’t think there was any danger of more snow later in the day. “We can ride, but we have to take it slow.”

Geoffrey nodded in agreement. “Go slow.”

“Will you take Matthias with you?” Melissa asked Logan.

“Of course, I will. Now that Matthias is old enough to sit with me in the saddle, I had planned to take him out while we’re visiting my family,” Logan told her.

“Good because I think he’s starting to get bored just sitting with us ladies all day,” she replied.

“Malcolm boring,” Geoffrey said.

Logan’s face grew warm. He really shouldn’t keep going on and on about how much he didn’t like Malcolm whenever it was just him and Geoffrey. Melissa frowned and glanced back at the snowman. At once, Logan knew she was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” he told her.

“Oh? So the snowman isn’t my brother?” she asked in a tone that let him know she wouldn’t believe him if he were to deny it.

“All right, yes it represented your brother.” Might as well get it over with. “But it’s not one of his portraits. It’s just a bunch of snow rolled up on the grass. It’ll melt soon. You know he sends us portraits because he wants me to be aware of him every time I go by it.” He shuddered. “It’s his way of reminding me that he wishes I hadn’t married you.”

At first, he thought Melissa was going to deny it, but she ended up conceding to his point. “I suppose it is strange that he keeps sending us portraits. He doesn’t even always do it of his family. Sometimes it’s just him.”

“It is strange. I can only hope our attic is large enough to fit them all.”

They reached the manor, and she gave him a sympathetic look. “For what it’s worth, I’m very happy to be with you. You turned out to be a wonderful husband.” Her eyes lit up. “I think you’ll like what I’m giving you for Christmas.”

“Are you going to tell me we’re going to have another child?” he guessed.

She blinked in surprise. “No, not this time. We have four.” She glanced at their youngest. “And Joshua is only nine months old.”

“All of our children are close in age, and I am a firm believer that you can never have too many children.”

“You only say that because you don’t have to give birth to them.”

Though she uttered the reply, he could tell by the smile on her face that she had enjoyed carrying them. Sometimes he thought it would be nice to feel a new life moving inside of him. Ladies were lucky that way. However, he would never want to go through the actual process of giving birth, so he was more than happy to leave that part of creating their family up to her. His role was much more fun.

When they entered the morning room, Matthias and Jerry rushed over to the stack of presents in the middle of the room. To the side was a buffet set out with an assortment of treats, and the room was decorated with bells and ribbons. Logan put Charles down then helped Melissa and Geoffrey out of their coats. Afterwards, he led Geoffrey to a chair near the roaring fire that warmed up the room.

It was hard to believe his sister Isabella was old enough to be married already. This was her first year not spending Christmas with them. She was spending it with her husband’s family instead. Marybeth, however, had just turned fifteen, so they would be able to enjoy her company a few more years.

“Who wants to open their presents first?” his mother called out.

Matthias and Jerry hurried over to her. Logan supposed he should remind the children that when they were inside, they shouldn’t be running around and jumping up and down, but it was Christmas, and the children were excited. He didn’t want to spoil the mood. Besides, a little running and jumping never hurt anyone. At least he knew the presents they were getting would be things they could actually play with. So, in a way, this was just as fun for him. He was looking forward to seeing the excitement on their faces when they opened the brown paper to see what they received.

“Who should we start with?” Marybeth asked, putting her finger to her lips as if this was going to be a difficult decision.

As Mathias and Jerry competed to be the first one to receive a gift, Charles went over to the presents. Logan couldn’t blame him. What child didn’t want to see what gift was waiting for them? Even someone as young as two couldn’t help but get into the Christmas spirit. Logan sat with Melissa on the settee and put his arm around her shoulders. This was nice. It didn’t matter to Logan what his gift was. He had Melissa, their children, and his family to celebrate the day with him. And best of all, none of Malcolm’s portraits were in the room to torment him.

The End

Amelia tells Reuben She’s Expecting (Bonus Scene to that takes place after Worth the Risk: Marriage by Obligation Series: Book 4)

Books in the Marriage by Obligation Series:

*Note: this series is still in the progress of being written (I just started The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride)

So I listened to Worth the Risk recently, and I realized I missed an opportunity that should have been shared in the book. Reuben very much wants to have children. He spent so much of his life pretty much alone. Yes, he has his mother with him while growing up, and his older brother Corin (Lord Durrant) would visit, but he never got the chance to be around others his own age. In the book, he kept hoping Amelia would give him news that she with child, but she never did. I thought I’d take the time to do that in this blog post. Hope you enjoy it!

Just a warning, I’m doing this in first draft mode. It’s purely for entertainment purposes. So please don’t point out any typos you find. I have my hands full and would rather focus my editing efforts on the books themselves. (I know most of you are gracious enough to overlook errors on a blog post, but there’s always someone out there who thinks even a blog post needs to be perfect and will take time to critique it. If that is you, I recommend you skip this post. I’m just doing this for fun, and I’d rather keep it that way so I will do future posts like this. Nothing ruins the creative voice like the critical one.)

***

Reuben Gets The Good News

Reuben looked out the window from his bedchamber window. London was such an exciting place. Staying home was difficult, especially in the evening when the activity really picked up in town. Tonight a new play was being performed at the theatre, and he heard that Jefferson Crowdy was going to make his debut performance. Reuben had no idea who Jefferson Crowdy was, but rumors were that he had potential. Reuben would love to see how he did before everyone gave their opinion about him. Reuben liked being able to form his opinion first and then see what others thought.

Reuben went to the armoire and opened it. Maybe he could go out tonight.

No, he shouldn’t. He’d already spent the past two days taking in the sights and sounds of town. He had even stayed out later than he should have at Lord Edon’s ball. That Lord Edon sure did have good brandy and excellent taste in music. It was no wonder people didn’t care that Lord and Lady Cadwalader refused to go to his balls.

His gaze went to the clothes hanging in his armoire. He had just the right outfit to go to the theatre. He tapped the edge of the door. It would be fun to see a play. Brand new play. Brand new actor. Brand new clothes. And all he’d be doing was sitting. It wasn’t like he would be dancing. That wouldn’t be too taxing on his health.

The door connecting his bedchamber to Amelia’s creaked open, and he turned his gaze to her. She was wearing one of the gowns that told him she intended to spend the evening inside.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw him. “Why are you looking for something formal to wear?”

He thought about telling her she misunderstood why he was standing at the armoire, but she’d see right through the lie. He let out a sigh and gestured to the window. “Look at all those people who are going to the theatre. “Aren’t you the least bit curious to see if this new actor is any good or not?”

She offered him a sympathetic look but went over to him so she could close the armoire. She took his hand and pulled him away from it. “You know what happens when you do too much. You get sick. Then you have to spend a week in bed.”

“What if we just go there, sit, watch the play, and come right back here?”

“We’ve tried that before, but you end up coming across someone we know, and you spend the next hour or two talking.” She squeezed his hand. “You love to be around people, and they love to be around you. You can’t help it.”

“This is the only time Jefferson Crowdy will give his first performance.”

“But it won’t be his last. It’s not worth getting sick over.”

He knew she was right, but it was difficult to wait for tomorrow to go to the theatre. He glanced at the window. He tried not to let the fact that he got sick easily bother him. He ought to be glad that he hadn’t died when he was a child so he was alive to experience all of the adventures he was having now.

She tugged on his hand. “Sit over here with me. I have something to tell you.”

To his surprise, she led him over to the bed. His mood lightened. “Did you mean you have something to show me?”

Catching the teasing tone in his voice, she giggled. “I suppose I can do that, too, but what I have to say is pretty important.” They reached the bed. She sat on it and patted the spot next to her. “Come on.”

He hurried to sit and turned toward her. At what point would they start removing each other’s clothes? “Did you think up a new game?”

“No, I’m not playing a game this time. I have something to tell you that I think you’ve been wanting to hear for quite some time.”

When she didn’t continue, he asked, “Am I supposed to guess?”

“It’ll be more fun that way.”

“I’m going to need some hints if you want me to guess.” Then, with a grin, he added, “If I guess right, do I get to take something off of you?”

She shook her head in amusement. “Reuben, you are incorrigible. If you’re not trying to go out to do something, you’re trying to get me into bed.”

“I’ll have you know that you are the one who brought me over here this time. I take no responsibility for what happens next.”

“All right, that’s a fair point. But that also leads me to a good hint.” She patted the bed. “Something we do here has led to what I need to tell you.”

His eyebrows furrowed. His first thought was she was expecting a child, but every other time he thought that, he had turned out to be wrong. So he should probably make a different guess. But what else could it be? He sorted through all the things he could come up with that had to do with them being in bed. After a moment, he guessed, “You’re finally willing to pose nude for me so I can have that painting of you.”

She gasped. “No!”

“I told you I’m good at hiding things. Why, no one–not even you–found the drawings I did of you at the estate.”

“You did more than one drawing of me? In…in…a bedchamber setting?”

“Well, it’s not like we were in London where there’s always something to do,” he argued, surprised she was so shocked by the admission. “I am an artist. I need to let my creativity out.”

“Have you done those drawings here, too?”

He could lie, but she might actually stumble upon those since his hiding places in this townhouse weren’t as good as they were at the country estate. “I might have done one or two to pass the time while I was sick.”

He didn’t think she could look any more shocked than she already was, but she proved him wrong. “How many naked drawings are there of me in this place?” she whispered.

He laughed. “You don’t have to whisper. No one can hear us. We’re alone.”

“Reuben, how many?”

“All right, I did ten.”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Ten?”

“When I’m stuck in bed all day and you need to greet visitors downstairs, I get bored,” he explained.

“Next time you’re sick, I’m turning those visitors away. I don’t care who they are. In fact, this is an excellent reason why you can’t be permitted to leave the townhouse tonight. You must stay well. It’s a good thing I have something coming along that will keep you entertained. After learning this, I will not hire a nursery maid. You will be responsible for watching the baby.”

Sure he hadn’t heard right, he asked, “Did you just say ‘baby’?”

She nodded. “That’s exactly what I said, Reuben. Don’t you try to get out of it, either. I don’t care if the father doesn’t typically watch his child. You are not like other gentlemen. Other gentlemen don’t draw their wives without clothes on. They spend time drawing other things. Things like London, nature, and fully clothed people. You get bored way too much. I thought if we got a piano in that room off to the side of this bedchamber, you wouldn’t be tempted to do those drawings.”

“But they’re all of you.”

“I don’t care. What if our child ends up finding them? Do you know how awful that would be?”

There is was again. She was mentioning a child. This time that had to be the news she had to give him. He bolted off the bed and gestured for her to stand up. When she hesitated, he took her hand and helped her up. Then he lifted the mattress and dove under it until he found the drawings he had hidden. When he emerged out from under it, he ripped them up into pieces so little that no one would be able to tell what they were. Then he dumped them into the rubbish bin.

“Are you telling me that those drawings have been under us every time we’ve been together in this bed?” she asked, staring at him in disbelief.

“No one ever looks under the mattress,” he replied.

“The laundry maid washes the sheets and put them back on.”

“Yes, but I was careful to put the drawings in the middle of the mattress. They never need to tuck the sheets in that far. Besides,” he clasped her hands in his, “what is this about you having a baby? You’re not teasing me, are you, because I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

“Oh, Reuben, I would never tease you about something like this.”

He let out a cheer and hugged her. “This is so exciting. Finally, you’re with child.” He pulled away from her. “And this is only the first one. I want a lot of them so they never have to be alone. We need to make an effort to have them close enough in age so they can play together. Corin was too old by the time I came along. The only game he ever played with me was chess, and that’s not a very interesting game when you’re a child. Oh Amelia, this is perfect. Now I don’t have to want for anything. My life is complete. I will be happy to spent all of my time with the baby.”

“Wait, you will still reserve some time for me, won’t you?”

“Of course, I will. How else do you think we’re going to get the other children to be a friend to this one?” Before she could respond, he gave her a long kiss that soon led to other things.

And he forgot all about Jefferson Crowdy’s debut performance.

(The End)

***

Jefferson Crowdy is Lord Dayton’s stage name, and only Grant Carnel (Lord Wright) knows his real identity. I introduced Lord Dayton in The Earl’s Jilted Bride. He will also show up in Anyone But the Marquess. He is good friends with Mr. Oscar Hamilton (the messy but lovable character we originally met in Midnight Wedding). He will get his romance in The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride, which is Book 6 in this series. Anyone But the Marquess is still in the final editing stages. I am writing The Earl’s Bluestocking Bride.