Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 62

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.

****

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

Update on My Progress for The Earl’s Stolen Bride and A Groom’s Promise

I’m hoping to finish up with both of these by the end of next week.  *fingers crossed*

Marriage by Deceit Series: Book 4

I just finished Chapter 20 in this one.  I pretty much hit on the major climax of the book already, and everything from here is resolution, which basically means I’m resolving all the points of conflict that I introduced earlier in the story.  I’m not sure how many chapters are left, but I’m at 53,700 words now, and I don’t expect to hit over 65,000 words.  So that hopefully gives you an idea of how close I am to the end.

I was going to put this one on pre-order, but because I don’t want to wait all the way to August to get it out, I’m not going to do a pre-order on this one.  I’d like to get it out in July.  I already have my editor reserved to work on it in June.

This one is quickly nearing the 50,000-word mark, which will make it a full-length novel.  I got almost 47,500 words in.  I have just reached Chapter 20.  I should have either 3 or 4 chapters left.  So this puts me at an estimate of 54,000 words total for this book.

I have struggled a lot with the title of my story in this anthology, and I finally just settled on The Shy Groom.  I really can’t come up with anything else that fits.  So The Shy Groom, it is.

During June, Janet and I will be going through this book, and we’re expecting to have it to our publisher in July.  From there, it shouldn’t be too long before it’s out.

Why Characters Matter So Much To The Story

As I was writing The Earl’s Stolen Bride today, I suddenly realized the only reason why Lord Hawkins married Chloe (heroine in The Earl’s Stolen Bride) in The Earl’s Secret Bargain was because she was beautiful. ��More than that, she was extremely beautiful. ��I know Toby (Lord Davenport) didn’t think Chloe was as good looking as Regina, but then Toby was going to marry Regina so, of course, he thought she was better looking.

It’s all about perspective. ��Over and over, Orlando has been telling Toby that Chloe is far more attractive, but Toby has refused to listen, which he should because he’s married to Regina and should think Regina’s better looking. ��But when I brought in a minor character into The Earl’s Stolen Bride, he made a comment that made me realize Orlando was right. ��Chloe is the prettier of the two. ��In fact, she’s the prettiest heroine of all the ladies I’ve featured in all my Regencies.

And this was why Lord Hawkins (the gentleman who ran off to India right after marrying Chloe in The Earl’s Secret Bargain) married Chloe. ��It’s also why he had no real interest in consummating their marriage. ��To him, beauty was to be looked at and put on display, not touched. ��Had I ever written Lord Hawkins’ point of view, I might have figured this out sooner, but I never did write in his point of view.

I’ve been in Orlando’s point of view, and he has been in love with her since before she married Lord Hawkins. ��He’s spent the past three books of this series longing for her. ��She had attracted a lot of other gentlemen, too. ��I had a lot of them gathering around her everywhere she went, but I assumed it was because she knew how to flirt because that’s what Orlando thought. ��Now I know it was because she’s incredibly attractive. ��Had it not been for Dr. Harvey talking to Chloe, I would never have known this.

When I talk about writing in a character’s point of view, this is what I’m referring to. ��It’s best for a writer to be so immersed within that character (seeing everything only from that character’s point of view) that they aren’t aware of what the other characters are thinking unless the characters either say something or if the writer writes in the other character’s viewpoint. ��In real life, we only know what we are thinking. ��We can’t read other people’s minds. ��The only way we find something out is if someone tells us. ��We can guess, but we can’t ever truly know. ��(This is why they say, “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.”)

Finding out these surprises is one of the reasons why writing is so enjoyable, and it’s why secondary characters can really add something fun to a book. ��Writing a story isn’t just telling a story. ��It’s about living through a character, feeling and thinking everything that character is. ��It’s being inside the character and seeing the story from their perspective. �� The story is not the writer’s story. ��The story is the character’s. ��This is why I love the story as much as I do. ��Without the character, the story has no meaning. ��The story is only a series of events. ��The character is what gives the story heart. ��This is why I believe the character is the key to the entire story, and the focus should always be on the main characters. ��Secondary characters support the story, but the main ones are the ones that really count.

Making Good Progress on The Earl’s Stolen Bride and A Groom’s Promise

Obviously, having incentive can do wonders to kick a writer’s behind into gear. ��I made awesome progress in The Earl’s Stolen Bride and my novel in A Groom’s Promise. ��At the end of this month, my mother-in-law is coming for a visit and I have a conference in Arizona. ��I want to get the first drafts to both done by May 23.

��I am now at chapter 16! ��(I just hit the 40,000 word mark today. ��The total word count is supposed to be 65,000 words. ��This puts my chapter goal around 22-24 chapters.) ��So I’m well over the halfway point. ��My goal is 1500 words a day (at least). �� If I can keep up that pace, I can make my goal. ��*fingers crossed*

I am in love with Chloe and Orlando. ��I’m really enjoying their story. ��When I introduced their romance back in The Earl’s Secret Bargain, I never expected to be as wrapped up in their romance as I am. ��I fall in love when my characters do, but there are some couples whose love seem to run a little deeper than the others, and this is one of them.

My story in this anthology will definitely be a full-length novel. ��I’m very pleased with the way this story is playing out. ��I have seventeen chapters in this so far. ��I’m expecting there to be about 21-23 chapters total.

This story has not turned out at all like I expected. ��The hero starts out as so awkward and shy, but then he decided he doesn’t want to stay that way. ��As soon as he realizes the heroine returns his feelings, he developed this newfound courage I never saw coming. ��I’ve been writing long enough to know that if a character is going to be a certain way, then I need to let him be that way.

Not to give away too much, but it really put a damper on the wedding night since I had hoped he’d hide in the barn to avoid her. ��That was supposed to be really funny scene. ��But now I can’t use it. ��Maybe I can do it in another book. ��(Sometimes I hate it when characters won’t let me do the incredibly awesome scene I wanted to.) ��But Jack wins. ��He gets to the wedding night his way.

Update on What I’m Doing

At the moment, my attention has been focused on two books, A Groom’s Promise and The Earl’s Stolen Bride. ��I was writing in four books at 500 words a day, but the momentum picked up in A Groom’s Promise and The Earl’s Stolen Bride so I decided to go with it and let the ideas come as long as they’re willing to.

A Groom’s Promise is longer than I expected.

��It was supposed to be 35,000 words. ��Now, I’m almost at 40,000 words, and there’s still more to do. ��So I am estimating 50,000 words.

One perk to being in full control of my content is that if I need to make a book longer, I can. ��Likewise, I can make it shorter if it needs to be. ��There’s nothing worse than a book loaded with fillers that end up being boring. ��Second to this is a book that feels rushed to get to the end. ��It’s why I’ve learned to be flexible on deadlines or a certain word count. ��Whenever I filled up a story or rushed it, I ended up regretting it, and after writing 48 romances, I’ve finally learned the very important lesson of letting each story be as long or as short as it needs to be in order to tell it.

I guess this begs the question, “How does an author know when the story is done?” My rule of thumb is when I am satisfied with it. ��I’m not sure if other authors have the same answer, but it’s mine.

~~~

For the first part of The Earl’s Stolen Bride, I had a limited idea on how I was going to proceed with it.

Thankfully, I now know what’s going to happen. ��The breakthrough came a couple weeks ago, but it didn’t gain momentum until this week. ��I stalled for a while because I had to work through a major transition point between the time Orlando and Chloe are at his country home to when they go back to London. ��Now that I crossed this major hurdle, things have gotten a lot easier to write. ��What a relief.

~~~

In case anyone is wondering about Janet Syas Nitsick, her husband is home from the hospital, but he’ll need to have surgery. ��I don’t feel like it’s my place to go into details in a public place. ��I just wanted to give a quick update and ask for prayer on their behalf. ��Thanks. :)