Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 61

Flash Fiction Story

I love horror and thrillers, especially the psychological kind.  Beyond Return of the Aliens and a YA story I wrote way back in 1995 or so, I hadn’t really written anything in the horror or thriller genres.  I enjoy both thrillers and horror, but I prefer more of the psychological type.  I’m not much into the whole slasher ones.

Anyway, last November I went to a writer’s conference, and there was this workshop on writing flash fiction.  Afterwards, I decided to try my hand at both horror and flash fiction. This piece is the result of my experiment.

I thought I’d go ahead and publish it on Smashwords.  Otherwise, it was sitting on my computer doing nothing.  I don’t know if I’ll write any more of these stories, but it was fun to do something different.

Here’s the description of this flash fiction story: A lone traveler arrives at an old house in the middle of the night. Even creepier than the house is the man who lives there. But not everything is as it seems.

If you’re interested, you can read it at Smashwords.

I am going to try a flash fiction piece for romance to see if I can do it.

Updates

Done with the first draft

I finished it today.   I have this on preorder for November 20 to give myself time to get it through the editing stages and to give myself some breathing room during the move to Montana.  (I haven’t officially moved yet, but I will early next month.  Right now, it’s a matter of getting things wrapped up in Nebraska.)

Books 2-4 in the series will not have sex in them.

Though I’ve been working on this book, I have been thinking of the next one in the series.  In doing so, I realized a sex scene isn’t necessary in that one.  There is nothing it would add to the plot or to the growth of the characters.  I enjoy putting sex scenes into books, but only if the sex adds something.  I don’t believe in adding sex just to have it there.  If sex doesn’t somehow add to the book, I see no reason to have it there.

So…in realizing I don’t need sex in book 3 and sex doesn’t fit anywhere in book 4, I decided to remove sex from book 2.  The sex in book 2 was more optional than mandatory.  In book 1 it worked because that was when Hathor truly felt loved by Ann.  But it’s not necessary in the rest of the series.  One of the perks of self-publishing is being able to call the shots on what is best for the series.  I don’t like trying to fit my books into someone else’s vision for them.  If I don’t do what is best of the books, the stories end up sucking.

In short, I changed my mind and will keep books 2-4 the way they already were.

Books 2-4 have a high fantasy content.

There are romantic threads through books 2-4.  I don’t know what the percentage is between romance and fantasy, but it is more fantasy-ish than I originally thought.  So to label these as fantasy romance might be misleading.  When I categorize this series, I am going to label it fantasy and romance.

I know these types of books don’t appeal to most of you, which is why I feel it’s important to specify what this series is.  That way, you don’t pick up the books thinking they’re straight out romance when they aren’t.  I want to be are fair and transparent as possible.  As a reader, I hate it when an author misleads me into believing a book is something it isn’t.  I don’t read all books authors I enjoy write, so I understand if you decide to skip this series.  No hard feelings. :D  I’d rather you read the books you will enjoy than reading books you don’t.

Will start this one tomorrow

I have some downtime before things pick up in a week and a half, so I’m going to use it to get started on book 3.  I would work on Wagon Trail Bride if I thought I could handle it, but that would be too much.  So I’m going to work on this one since it’s not so much work.

Updates

Moving To Montana

First of all, I’m in the process of moving, which will make it harder for me to respond to emails and comments.  I know I don’t get to things right away as it is, but this is going to be even more tricky.  I won’t always be near a computer, and I’ll be overseeing the majority of the moving arrangements.  I don’t care what they say.  A mother’s job is never done. :D

On the plus side, being in Montana, should be good for learning new things that will inspire more historical westerns.  I’m looking forward to it.  I see it as a chance to have a new adventure.  There will be new things to check out and learn.  I expect some will find their way into future books.

All I ask is that you’re patient with me while I make the transition.

This will be out in January

Janet Syas Nitsick and I had to push the date back on this one.  She’d dealing with health issues in her family, and I’m moving.  So things are just too hectic to do anything right now.  I’ll change the status on the “Works in Progress” page so everyone can see it’ll be out in January.

Enchanted Galaxy Series

I’m at Chapter 21 right now.  I plan to finish that up today.  I’d say I’m about 3/4 of the way through with it.  I still expect to finish the full draft on June 20.  Then I move onto Book 3 (The Royal Pursuit) on and off.  The deadline on Book 3 is July 31.

I haven’t forgotten this one.

I still have this on my list.  It depends on how soon things settle on when I can get to it.

Going to Finish Up the Enchanted Galaxy Series

So I’ve been working on Royal Hearts, which is book 2 in the Enchanted Galaxy, and I realized the rewrite is actually pretty minor.

As you may already know, Book 1 is already out.  But if you’d like to read the entire series as a whole, my advice is to wait until later this year.  I plan to publish the rest of the series before the end of this year.

But my current dilemma is how to classify the entire series.  I’m going to have one of my editors who is familiar with all the genres help me in this area.  I don’t want to mislead people into thinking this series is a particular thing when it’s not.  Yes, all of these books feature romance pretty heavily, but is it a romantic fantasy or a fantasy romance.  Book 1 was easy to classify as a fantasy romance.  The other three, I’m not sure.  So we’ll see.

In the meantime, I am over halfway done in Royal Hearts.

I’ll be getting into Chapter 17 today.  I’m not sure how many chapters it’ll have.  What I do know is that I’ll need to write the final chapter from scratch in order to make it complete.  That will be the only thing that will slow me down, but I don’t expect it’ll take me more than three days to write it.

My estimate is that I can have the complete draft done by June 20.

Then I’m going to work on Book 3 in the series.

Again, I’ll be adding a couple of scenes to it.  I always thought it was a shame the hero and heroine never had “open door” sex scenes, so those will be added.  The rest of it should be light rewrites, such as what I’m doing in Royal Hearts.

During the time I’m working on this, I will be moving, and I have no idea how often I’ll be able to get on the computer.  So I’m going to allow a week for that interruption.  I’m estimating August 1 as my done date for the draft.

After that, I’ll tackle Book 4.

I wasn’t originally going to do Book 4 because it doesn’t feature Ann and Hathor like Books 1-3 do, but as I was thinking over Book 3, it became apparent I need Book 4 because Book 3 has a strong lead-in into the 4th book.  The rewrites would be significant in Book 3 if I don’t finish the series up with Book 4.  So I’m going to do it.

Book 4 (unlike Books 1-3) will have no sex in it.  It’ll be one of my few sexless romances.  I expect the draft one to be done in mid-August.

***

I want to publish these three books at the same time.  I’m thinking that will be around October or November, depending on how things progress.

I’m not sure where Wagon Trail Bride fits into all of this, but I do plan to get back to it.  It’s hard to do with this summer being as hectic as it is.  I might not be able to seriously get into it until the kids are back in school.  By then, everything should have settled down.

The Earl’s Stolen Bride is Now Available!

It’s now on iBooks, so I figured it’s a good time to go ahead and do this post.  Now all my main bases are covered with the links for this book. :)

Book 4 in the Marriage by Deceit Series.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Amazon Australia | Amazon Germany

iBooks US | iBooks Australia | iBooks New Zealand | iBooks Canada

Barnes & Noble US | Barnes & Noble UK

Kobo

Smashwords

*If I’m missing a link to your country, let me know.

Updates on What I’m Doing

I’m in the Process of Publishing The Earl’s Stolen Bride

Book 4 in the Marriage by Deceit Series.

Some sites are quicker than others.  Amazon and Smashwords tend to be the fastest.  I also uploaded directly to Barnes & Noble and Kobo.  Smashwords will send it to iBooks, Flipkart, Scribd, Oyster, and other sites, and that can vary depending on when the book gets premium approval.

But I’ll be sending out my email (along with a short scene where Orlando met Chloe) to those of you on my email list once the book is up on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.  I would expect the book to be up at iBooks to 1-2 weeks.  Smashwords is pretty quick about getting books on iBooks.

This book finishes up the Marriage by Deceit Series.  But I already have the first book in my next Regency series (Marriage by Arrangement) planned out.  That is planned, not plotted.  I know the hero, the heroine, and what brings them together.  The rest will have to work itself out as I write it.

Setting January as the Publishing Month

Janet Syas Nitsick and I debated on what would be the best publishing month and decided January would work for both of us.  So this is being pushed back.  In the meantime, we will be working on edits and making sure everything lines up between the two stories.

I’ll be returning to Wagon Trail Bride

Now that I have The Earl’s Stolen Bride out and the first draft to my novel in A Groom’s Promise finished, I can go back to this book.  I’d like to say that I am 20,000 words into it, but I haven’t even gotten beyond 13,000 words.  So yeah, I still have a ways to go.

Honestly, I have no idea when this will be out, except I am planning on it coming out before the end of this year.  I’m going to estimate September, but that will depend on how well the story flows.  If it gains momentum, I’ll be in luck.

I’ll be picking this one up soon too

I got about 18,000 words (out of 78,000) when I had to stop to focus on The Earl’s Stolen Bride and A Groom’s Promise.  This is book 2 in the Enchanted Galaxy Series (a contemporary fantasy romance).  Book 1 is A Royal Engagement.  This isn’t due out until November.

***

That is all I’m going to plan for now.  I’m going to be moving to Montana this summer, so time to write and edit is going to be limited.  Once school picks up in the fall, I expect to be able to pick up speed again.

Why I Write Historical Romances (#WhyIWriteHistoricals)

Today over on Twitter (#WhyIWriteHistoricals) the discussion is why writers write historical romances.  There is also a discussion on why people read historical romances (#WhyIReadHistoricals).

This looked like a fun topic to post about, so I thought I would add my two cents. :D

Historical Western Romances

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These are the ones that grabbed me first, and this is why I got into writing romance at all.  It really started with Falling In Love With Her Husband.  This was the first romance I wrote.  While I was writing it, I kept expecting to go back to fantasy or YA thrillers when I was done.  But then another romance idea came (An Inconvenient Marriage, which is not western but still historical).  I wrote that.  Then there was another one and another one.  By the time I got to Eye of the Beholder with Dave and Mary Larson (my fourth romance), I was hooked.  I knew I had to write about Dave’s brothers and sisters.  In writing their romances, I got other ideas, and from there, the ideas multiply on a regular basis.  I will never have enough time to write them all.

But I LOVE the historical time period.  I’ve never had as much fun writing until I stumbled upon the writing historical romances for these reasons:

1.  Cowboys are sexy.

I don’t know what it is about a man wearing a cowboy hat, belt, and boots who is off to ride a horse, but it’s an image I love to see.  When I think of cowboys, I think of men who are brave, work hard, and provide for their families.

2.  The atmosphere.

When I think of the historical west in the United States, I think of men opening doors for women and helping women into a buggy.  I think of a time when men lifted women on a pedestal and wanted to take care of them.  (Okay, I knew in reality not all men lifted women on a pedestal, just as they don’t today.  But the culture as a whole encouraged men to treat women that way.)

3.  Romantic feel.

Something about the old west just lends itself to a more romantic and tender feel to it.  I don’t know if I truly can explain this.  I just know when I slip into the historical west, it’s easy for me to show the greatest level of tenderness in a marital relationship.  I can’t do that as well with contemporaries or Regencies.  But I can with historical westerns.  The historical westerns that make me cry the most end up being my favorites.  (The crying always comes with a happy ending.  I hate books that are depressing.  Mine are made to be uplifting.)

Regencies

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I wrote The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife as an experiment to see how things would play out.  As it turned out, the experiment was a big success, and I’ve come up with other Regencies since then.  I’ll be finishing up my second series in June, and then I’ll start on my third series.  So more Regencies will be coming.

This is why I LOVE Regencies…

1.  Humor

With all the rules in this society, it’s way too easy to create scandals, and that is what makes this time period so much fun to write.  A single kiss or innocent tumble can mean chaos.  When there’s chaos, sparks fly, either between the hero or heroine or someone in the family.

2.  Personalities

The reason why I love these stories the most is because of the characters.  The way these characters interact is magical.  Any of these characters alone would be boring, but when you mix them together, the books take on a life of their own.  What would Lord Roderick (Nate) be without Mister Robinson (Christopher) pestering him…and vice versa?  What would the Duke of Ashbourne (Camden) be without Mister Robinson encouraging him to create a scandal?  And though Lord Toplyn (Logan) has annoyed some, he’s one of my favorite Regency characters because no matter what the situation, he had a way of looking at things that made me laugh.  The more serious gentlemen wouldn’t be the same without the troublemakers in the group.   This is why I’m having all of my Regencies take place in the same world, even though I’m breaking the books up into different series.

In my next Regency series, however, I think it’ll be a heroine who ends up initiating some mischief to mix things up a bit.

My favorite Regencies are the ones that make me laugh the most.

Updates on What I’m Doing

Working on Final Edits for The Earl’s Stolen Bride

Book 4 in the Marriage by Deceit Series.

I would like to bump this one up to mid-June for a release.  I’ll start on the final read through today.

Uncertain Release Date

I am in the process of talking to Janet Syas Nitsick about a possible release month for this book.  We are both done with the first drafts, but getting everything matching and the formatting are going to be more extensive than I originally thought.  I figure August at the very soonest is when I can have it all polished up and ready, but based on sales trends and other business-related factors, it might be best to wait for the beginning of next year.  (As a writer, the business side of things has to play a part in the decisions I make, and part of it is when it’s best to release a book.)

Picked Up On This One Again

It’ll be hit and miss, what with the kids now out of school for the year.  I expect progress to be slow.

Going to Pick Up This One Again, Too

I have this set tentatively for November, but if I finish early, I can publish it sooner.  We’ll see how things go.

Will Pick This One Up

So that puts me at three books I’ll be working on this summer.  I want to get Royal Hearts and this one out before the end of the year so I can officially put a close to the Enchanted Galaxy Series. :)

Finished The First Draft of The Earl’s Stolen Bride Tonight and Should Finish A Groom’s Promise By Monday

Due out the End of June!

Book 4 in the Marriage by Deceit Series.

I’m happy to say I’m finished with The Earl’s Stolen Bride. I’ll give everyone a heads up. I did end this book with a lead in to the next series.  I don’t make it a habit of doing this, but this particular situation was unique because three heroines in this series (Helena, Melissa, and Chloe) have decided to go into business together to arrange marriages for people who would rather not go through the hassle of going through the formalities of the Season.

I don’t know if leaving this particular book (and the Marriage by Deceit series) makes me a stinker or not, but I couldn’t think of any other way to end it.  Plus, when I look at these Regency series, they all seem to follow a common thread through all of them with the same characters in the same world.  Old characters weave in and out from time to time, some taking more of a prominent role in the next story than another while other characters seem to fade away.  So for me, though The Earl’s Stolen Bride completes this series, it isn’t the end of the Regency world overall.

Anyway, I’ll have this out and ready for my editor by Monday evening.  This puts me right on track to get this out before the end of June.

Should Finish This by Monday!

This will be my 49th romance! The next one will be 50! :)

Looking at my novellas and full-length novels, I will be finishing up my 49th romance with my story in this anthology.  I really want to say I wrote 100 romances, but I’m only almost halfway there.

 I’m just below the 50,000-word threshold.  I know there’s a debate on whether a full-length novel is 40,000 or 50,000 words, but I call a full-length novel 50,000 words.  (Other genres probably consider 50,000 words to be a short story.  I know there are some books that span 150,000 words or more.  How anyone could write a book that long boggles my mind.)

Anyway, I think I came up with a title for my story this time.  The Bride’s Choice.  I liked someone’s suggestion about the choice the heroine has to make because ultimately, she does have to put her foot down and do something or her father wouldn’t relent and the guy she doesn’t want to be with wasn’t much help either (when you read the story, you’ll know what I mean by this last part).  Since someone said Maybell made them think of a cow (which made me laugh because I remember there being a fake cow by that name in my grocery store in the milk section when I was a kid), I felt the safest bet was to go with Bride.

I did, however, get an idea for a future book that will be called The Rejected Suitor, thanks to the comments I got.

I want to thank everyone who gave me ideas because it did help a lot in getting my brain thinking outside the box.

New Title Needed for my Novel in the A Groom’s Promise Anthology

I have been going back and forth between names for my story in the anthology, A Groom’s Promise.  I’m not happy with The Shy Groom.  I want to do something else.

This morning, all I could come up with is The Rejected Suitor.  My question to all of you is, is this title something that would grab your attention if you were browsing for books?  Or is there a better title I can use?

Here’s the brief description I came up with: She and awkward Jack Warren has finally found the woman of his dreams, but her father wants her to marry his brother instead.

Here’s the long description:

This is a story about a stuttering hero who has a tendency to bump into things when he’s nervous.  Since he’s endured a lot of ridicule, he and his brother decide to make a new start in a place.  His brother comes across an ad looking for hired hands in Lincoln, Nebraska, and with this position comes the opportunity to buy some acreage from the owner.  This is Jack’s chance to live out the rest of his life in peace since he’ll be far removed from others.  What he doesn’t count on is the owner’s attractive daughter who happens to be available.

When the new hired hands arrive at her pa’s farm, Maybell is immediately drawn to Jack.  Though he wasn’t the most graceful of all men to work for her pa, there’s a certain charm and sweetness about him that appeals to her.  Her pa, however, has other ideas.  Certain someone as timid as Jack wouldn’t make a good husband, he rejects Jack’s suit.  Instead, he plans for her to marry his brother, and he’ll do everything he can to make that happen.

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So that is the information about the book.  Does The Rejected Suitor fit for a title, or is there something better?  I’m open to any suggestions. :D