Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 63

The Rambling Post

This post is more of a “got to clear my mind” post than anything else. ��I have tried private journaling, but for some reason coming onto this public blog and getting stuff sorted out helps a lot more. ��Weird, I know. ��But it’s how things are for me, and I might as well do what works.

Going Back to Pre-orders (except on Amazon)

After going through an entire day of publishing Ruined by the Earl with multiple formats (one for Amazon, one for B&N, one for Kobo, and one for Smashwords) and having to resize my cover at one place, I realized I need to simplify my life.

I think I’ve had enough of going through all these channels independently. �� I’ll do it if I have to. ��Like if the book is supposed to be on Kobo or B&N but isn’t for some reason, I’ll go in��and upload it through that retailer. ��(This happens about 10% of the time when I publish the book through Smashwords, but most of the time, things work like they’re supposed to.)

So I made the decision to go back into pre-orders. ��It was nice to be able to publish on just Amazon and Smashwords. ��I forgot what a pain it was to do four retailers. ��I would rather spend more time writing than trying to work out all the kinks I need to in order to get the book “just right” for every channel.

I want the book to be available on the same day at Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, and iBooks. ��In order to do that, I am going to upload the book to Smashwords 5-6��weeks out. ��That should be enough time for it to go up on all the sites so it’s available on the day I’ll be publishing it on Amazon.

I am not doing pre-orders to gain any traction or make extra sales, so I’m not going to worry about doing this on Amazon. ��My only goal is to have the book on the channels on the same day. ��So I won’t be posting any links until the day it’s actually available.

*The exception to this will be the books I submit to my awesome publisher, Parchment & Plume. ��I don’t have control over the distribution on those books.

I am way behind in my writing schedule.

And I’m extremely frustrated because of it. ��Words can’t describe just how frustrated I am. ��So much has been going on in my personal life. ��There’s nothing serious. ��It’s just a lot is going on, and it keeps on coming. ��I feel like I’m plugging up a hole in a dam only to realize there’s another leak. ��I finish one task and think, “Good, now I can write.” But then something else pops up, and I have to tend to it. ��So yeah, frustrated is the best word I can come up with to explain how I’m feeling.

What’s worse is that when I finally do get a chance to sit and write, my mind draws a blank, and I don’t even know what to type next. ��It usually takes me an hour to write 1,000 words. ��Now it’s like 250 words. ��The answer (as ironic as it seems) is to keep at it. ��I know it’ll get easier. ��If I take a break, it’ll actually be harder to get back to. ��The answer (for me) is to keep at it and plug away. ��This, too, shall pass. ��It’s just getting it to pass that is going to be the grueling part.

The Books I Would Like to Publish For the Rest of This Year

Now that I’m coming up toward the mid-point in the year, I can get a clearer picture of what I might be able to publish for the rest of this year. ��And since I need to sort this out (probably more than anything else), let me list that in this post.

This probably won’t be available until August. ��I know. ��It’s not as soon as I was hoping. ��I was hoping for May. ��Then I pushed it back to June. ��Then I said “this summer”.

See why I’m frustrated? ��Believe me, no one is more upset about it than I am, but I don’t want to publish an “eh” kind of book, which is what it would be if I rushed it. �� So��that means pushing it back to mid-to-late August. ��I need to give myself enough time to get it through pre-order and such, too.

This one might be out in July. ��Janet Syas Nitsick went��through two funerals in her family and today her husband is in the hospital. ��This, of course, affects��her writing.

Since this won’t be in pre-order, it should be out before The Earl’s Stolen Bride, unless something serious happens to her husband. ��We don’t know what is going on yet. ��He went in this morning. ��If you’re inclined, she could use the prayers.

This will also be with the publisher, but I’m thinking it will be a September release. ��We’ll see how things play out.

I have this planned for November.

And I have this planned for December.

How to Turn a Prospective Suitor Off (Excerpt from “The Marriage Bargain” in the anthology A Groom’s Promise)

Today’s post is a humorous excerpt from “The Marriage Bargain” which will be in the anthology, A Groom’s Promise.

A quick background into this scene, Maybell’s father told her Hugh wants to court her, so she is trying to do everything she can to lose his interest without coming out and telling him she’d rather be with his brother, Jack, instead.

She messed up her hair and clothes and then (for good measure) stuck parsley between her teeth. ��She also put a very bitter herb into Hugh’s stew. ��(Don’t worry, the herb didn’t hurt him.) ��Oh, and she didn’t put the herb into anyone else’s stew.

*****

���Where have you been?��� he pa asked.

She glanced away from Jack and saw Hugh coming into the dining room from the kitchen, looking as if he���d been in a hurry.

���I���m ��� I���m sorry I���m late,��� Hugh said, wiping his hands on his pants to dry them from having just washed them for the meal.

���Where were you all this time?��� her pa pressed.

���I shouldn���t have, but I stopped in to see Opal and the baby.���

Maybell���s eyebrows rose. Since when did men take it upon themselves to visit babies, especially ones that weren���t in their family?

Her pa appeared equally shocked. ���You shouldn���t have done that.��� After a moment, he added, ���Since you���re a newcomer to this area, you may not understand how important harvest time is around these parts. There���s a lot to do and we can���t afford dilly-dallying.���

Setting her napkin aside, Maybell stood up. ���I���ve been keeping your food warm. You set yourself down and I���ll bring it in.���

She brought in his bowl of stew and set it before him. God willing, that rue herb would do the trick. If men were as concerned about eating tasty meals for the rest of their lives as Ada said, then it would.

���Thank you,��� Hugh told her. ���I appreciate you keeping this hot for me.���

Hopefully, that would be the only thing he���d appreciate this evening.

���Maybell?��� her pa called out, turning her attention to him.

���Yes, Pa?��� she asked.

���Why don���t you take what���s left of your stew and sit beside Hugh?��� With a sly grin, he winked. ���You two need to get better acquainted.���

���But Pa������ She tried to think of a way to argue with him without arousing Hugh���s suspicions. It had to be his idea things would never work between them. She couldn���t very well do that if she didn���t do what her father wanted.

To her horror, Hugh pulled out the chair next to him. She glanced at her pa again who waved her over to the spot. Then her gaze went to Jack, noting the way his brow furrowed in confusion.

Unfortunately, she didn���t have a choice. She had to do this. She sat down next to Hugh and smiled at him, showing him her teeth���and the parsley���in all their glory. He blinked but gave no other indication that he noticed it. Instead, he returned to his seat. She watched as he took several bites of stew, his hunger probably prompting him to go faster than he would otherwise. But after a few seconds, he stopped chewing and grew still.

She bit her lower lip. Did she put in enough rue? Was it as bitter as she hoped?

He quickly swallowed, grabbed the glass, and drank most of it down in several large gulps. He coughed, shuddered, and downed the rest of the water.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Good. It was as bitter as she wanted!

Maybell in all her hideous glory.

���This is my best stew yet,��� she told him. ���I used my special recipe. What do you all think?��� she asked her pa and Jack.

���It���s good, as always,��� her pa replied.

Jack nodded and muttered a compliment, but his mood had turned considerably dark since Hugh���s arrival.

���You alright?��� her pa asked Hugh.

���Oh sure, Maybell always makes the greatest meals.��� Hugh coughed and ate a roll.

���Yes, but my stew is especially good,��� she said.

���It���s true,��� her pa agreed. ���She won a cooking contest at the church with this recipe.���

���I did.��� Gesturing to his bowl, she asked, ���You���re going to finish it all, aren���t you?���

Hugh���s mouth hung open for a moment, and she could swear he gasped at the thought.

���It���s very important that the man who ends up with me enjoys what I make.���

���Maybell prides herself on her cooking,��� her pa said. ���As well as she should. She did outdo herself tonight. I hope she makes this more often.���

���Oh, I will, Pa,��� she replied. ���I promise.��� She turned her gaze back to Hugh. ���I just might make this every week from now on.��� Then, for good measure, she smiled again, showing him her teeth, and let out a belch so low that only he could hear it.

He paled then got to his feet. ���It���s been a long day, and I���m exhausted.���

���Already?��� she asked. ���I haven���t even served my apple tarts.���

���No. I can���t stay. I need to get some sleep.���

���I need to have a word with you first,��� her pa said, rising up from where he was sitting.

Hugh shifted from one foot to the other then let out a sigh. ���Alright, sir.���

She waited until the two left the house before turning to Jack. ���Would you like dessert?���

What I’m Working On

I’m so excited about my current works in progress that I had trouble sleeping last night. ��(This often happens, which is why I try not to think about what I’m writing a couple hours before bedtime. ��But sometimes in the middle of the night, I’ll get ideas, and that’s when it’s hard to sleep. ��I won’t complain. ��It’s fun when the stories pretty much write themselves because it lets me know I’m on the right track.)

All that aside, here’s what I’m working on at the moment…

The Earl’s Stolen Bride (Marriage by Deceit: Book 4)

This will finish up this particular series, but…we will see these characters again in my next Regency series, Marriage by Arrangement.

Quick note about Malcolm’s romance: Malcolm Jasper (Melissa’s brother in Ruined by the Earl) is going to be the hero in one of the books (His Wicked Lady), which might be the book to start that series. ��If anyone needs a lady who doesn’t care about the rules of the Ton and will loosen him up, it’s Malcolm. ��He just might come to befriend Logan.

Back to The Earl’s Stolen Bride:��I am at 19,000 words in The Earl’s Stolen Bride. ��(My total word count goal is 60,000 to 65,000 words, so that gives you an idea of my progress.) ��Yesterday, I had a “light bulb moment” where I finally knew where to go in this book.

All I knew when I started was that Orlando had been pining for Chloe for over a year, and he finally gets his chance to be with her when her husband dies. ��But he had to make his move fast before her family could arrange for her to marry someone else after her mourning period was over. ��Beyond that, I had no idea where I was going in this book.

I am not a plotter. ��It doesn’t work for me. ��So I pretty much have to write until I know what to do because it’s only by writing that I truly understand the characters. ��This method does have it’s moments of panic because a part of me wonders if I can actually pull it off. ��But it is also very exciting because I never know where any story will go when I start it. ��It’s like going on a journey and discovering new things. ��This is why I love the writing part of creating a book so much.

A Groom’s Promise (sequel to Bride by Arrangement)

I’m between 1/2-3/4 of the way done with my novella “The Marriage Bargain” in this anthology. ��I’m thrilled at how well this story is coming together. ��My hero is about to make a bargain with the heroine’s father for the honor of marrying her. ��I’m a little over 27,000 words, and my estimate is that this will be about 40,000 words long.

Wagon Trail Bride

Now that Ruined by the Earl is out, I can get serious about writing in this one. ��I’m still hovering at 10,000 words (out of 55,000 to 65,000 I’d like to write total). ��This is Richard Larson’s book, and though we do see his family, the focus is mostly on others in the wagon train. ��This is going to be the first book in the Pioneer Series, so in addition to getting into Richard and Amanda’s romance, I’m also laying the groundwork to the next two books I’m planning in the series. ��This has caused me to go slower since I’m figuring out what to do with them.

One romance will feature a young woman who is “bugging” Amanda for most of the book because she insists on talking to her even though Amanda would rather be alone. ��This character (Laura) will be the heroine of book 2, which I have already titled The Marriage Agreement. ��The other romance will feature the young man (Joe) who will try to come between Amanda and Richard in this book. ��I don’t have the title (or plot) for his book yet, but it’ll be #3.

The Convenient Mail Order Bride

It took me months to figure out how to go about writing this one. ��I had originally titled this Stolen, but since I had “The Earl’s Stolen Bride” for the Regency, I nixed that title. �� Then I had to decide what to do with the hero because he’s the one who’s going to have the main source of conflict. ��I think I know where I’m heading, but I only started this one, so I have to keep writing to figure it all out. ��I can’t figure the story out until I write it (which I know makes no sense to authors who plot their books), but it’s just how it works for me.

Betting On Love

I’m working on this when time permits, which means not a whole lot. ��But a little here and there adds up after a while. :)

Ruined by the Earl is Now Available!

This is book 3 in the Marriage by Deceit Series. ��I am currently working on book 4 (The Earl’s Stolen Bride), and this will be the last book in this series. ��I am behind in writing it, so it probably won’t be out until June or July.

But these characters in Regency world will still show up from time to time in the next Regency series I have planned out. ��I’ll go more into that series when I get to it. ��(I want to get back to historical westerns��for a while.)

I just wanted everyone to know I have plans for another series in this Regency world. ��Malcolm (Melissa’s brother in Ruined by the Earl) is going to be featured in one of them. ��So at the end of Ruined by the Earl, what happens with Malcolm in relation to White’s will play a part in Malcolm’s future book.

For the time being, here is where you can find Ruined by the Earl. ��It should be up at iBooks in a couple weeks.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Smashwords

For fun, here is the page I created at Booklaunch.io with reviews by the characters who play a major role in the book.

Interview with Melissa and Logan (Heroine and Hero in Ruined by the Earl) with Malcolm Jasper (Melissa’s brother) who isn’t at all happy about this book

I finally got the description for Ruined by the Earl, and here it is…

After losing all of his money in a reckless bet, Logan Breckman, the Earl of Toplyn, needs to marry a lady from a wealthy family���and fast. So he does the only thing he can think of and picks one at random to trick into marriage.

Unfortunately for Miss Melissa Jasper, she happens to be in the right place at the wrong time. Before she knows it, he comes up to her carriage and kisses her���and she is doomed. Now she can���t marry the gentleman she was hoping to and she���s bound to a cad who thinks of little else but himself.

Logan is the first to admit he���s far from perfect, but being with a gentleman who knows how to ignite a passionate spark is a lot better than being stuck with one who���ll put a lady to sleep. Of course, she won���t thank him for forcing her hand in marriage yet. But he has no doubt that sooner or later, she���ll come to understand he���s the best thing that���s ever happened to her.

*****************************************

Miss Jasper (aka Melissa)

Melissa: Who wrote that garbage?

Ruth: You’re calling the description I painstakingly wrote “garbage”?

Melissa: Of course, I am. ��It’s filth. ��I mean, read it back to yourself. ��“Sooner or later, she’ll come to understand he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to her”? ��It’s garbage.

Logan: What’s wrong with that?

Melissa: It makes me seem weak, like I should be falling at your feet in utter adoration and thanking my lucky stars that you chose me, of all ladies, to bless with a kiss.

Logan: There’s nothing wrong with that. ��In fact, it’s perfect.

Melissa: It’s not perfect, you cad. ��It’s awful. ��I will never, ever, fall at your feet in adoration. ��In fact, I’ll never be glad I had to marry you. ��I’m going to mourn the loss of my happiness every day for the rest of my life.

Lord Toplyn (aka Logan)

Logan: I don’t understand why. ��I’ll make an ideal husband. ��I fully support a lady who speaks her mind, and I don’t take myself too seriously as some stuffy gentlemen do.

Malcolm: Is that “stuffy gentlemen” comment directed at me?

Logan: Who else would I be talking about?

Malcolm: Words cannot describe how much I hate you.

Logan: Good. ��Then don’t try. ��There’s no reason for you to be here.

Malcolm: You kissed my sister at Lord Roderick’s ball without having the decency to even find out if she was already in love with someone or not.

Logan: I didn’t have time to go around asking something like that. ��Time was of the essence. ��I had to secure a betrothal right away. ��Melissa just happened to be there.

Melissa: You don’t even care about me. Why would I ever be glad to be married to you?

Logan: You have it all wrong, my joyful tulip. ��I cared about you. ��I’m very happy you’re a beautiful lady.

Melissa: Is that all you care about? ��How I look?

Logan: Well, it does make getting the heir a lot easier if I’m attracted to you.

Malcolm (Melissa’s brother)

Malcolm: Duel! ��I demand a duel a once.

Logan: Don’t be silly. ��A duel will accomplish nothing.

Malcolm: It’ll get you out of our lives, you pathetic slug.

Logan: Was “slug” a word back in Regency times?

Malcolm: What do you care about a word’s origin? ��You’re wearing��modern clothes with a modern hairstyle.

Logan: You have a point. ��I offered to come on here naked so I could fit in with the Regency time period. ��People look the same regardless of the time period if they don’t wear any clothes. ��However, Ruth was surprisingly against it, so I came in clothes.

Ruth: I want to keep this blog PG, Logan.

Logan: Which is a shame.

Malcolm: No, it’s not. ��None of us want to go blind from looking at you without clothes on.

Logan: You’re just upset that I’m better looking than you.

Malcolm: That has nothing to do with it at all. ��It has to do with what’s decent and right, and you, my lord, are none of the above.

Logan: Hmm…. ��I’m pretty sure “none of the above” is a modern expression, Malcolm. ��You might want to rephrase that.

Malcolm: A duel! ��I demand a duel!

Melissa: Who cares what words were said back in the Regency time period or not? ��My life is about to be destroyed.

Lord Waxman (according to Logan)

Logan: It would only be destroyed if you actually married this ultra-dork. *snickers as he puts up the picture on the left* And yes, I know no one said “ultra-dork” back then, nor did they wear those clothes. ��But trust me, this is what Lord Waxman is like. ��See why I need to save the fair and enchanting Melissa?

Melissa: *takes out her handkerchief* My life is over. ��There is no point in going on.

Malcolm: Melissa, I’ll figure a way out of this. ��Somehow, we can get you out of this marriage.

Logan: You can try, but it won’t work.

Malcolm: Oh, shut up. ��No one wants you here.

Logan: That’s not true. ��I overheard Ruth saying I’m her favorite Regency character. ��In fact, she even added that out of all the Regencies she’s written, Ruined by the Earl is her favorite.

Ruth: That is true.

Malcolm: Have you no sense of decency, Ruth? ��I don’t think I will be a hero in one of your upcoming Regencies when you work on your next series.

Ruth: But we already signed the contract. ��Your book is going to be in the Marriage by Arrangement series. ��I don’t know which number in the series it’ll be yet. ��You need a wife who’ll loosen you up. ��You’re much too stuffy.

Logan: *shoots Malcolm a pointed look* ��See? ��Even she thinks you need to relax.

Malcolm: I can tell when I’m not wanted. ��Come on, Melissa. ��We don’t need to put up with this. ��This book will not end up with you and Logan “happily married” as Ruth claims.

*Malcolm and a crying Melissa leave*

Logan: It does end up with me and Melissa being happily married, doesn’t it?

Ruth: It’s a romance, Logan. ��All romances have a happy ending.

Logan: That’s good. ��I’d hate to think Malcolm would really be stupid enough to challenge me to a duel.

*end interview*

*****************************

Picture credits (I bought these off Dreamstime.com):

Logan – ID 34873258 �� Artofphoto | Dreamstime.com

Melissa – ID 33605726 �� Victoriaandreas | Dreamstime.com

Malcolm – ID 21663285 �� Inara Prusakova | Dreamstime.com

Lord Waxman –��ID 4569913 �� Redbaron | Dreamstime.com

Ruined by the Earl will be Available Soon but the Epilogue was Removed (Only People on My Email List Will Be Able To Read It)

Ruined by the Earl comes out this weekend/early next week. ��

This pretty much determines how fast Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo will get it up. ��Smashwords gets it up right away. ��For iBooks, it depends on how fast Smashwords will approve the version for premium distribution and send it to iBooks. ��There are lots of elements I can’t control. ��But I am currently on Chapter 21 of edits. ��So either Saturday or Sunday is the day I will be uploading this book to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Those of you on my email list will be the first to know when it’s available on these sites.

And speaking of my email list…

The epilogue for Ruined by the Earl will only be given to those of you on my email list.

Why? ��Because the epilogue in Ruined by the Earl��takes place after the events in The Earl’s Stolen Bride. ��I was going to originally put it in. ��(It’s been written.) ��But my editing team didn’t realize Ruined by the Earl actually begins before Helena (Lady Seyton) marries Camden (the Duke of Ashbourne) in Love Lessons With the Duke. ��Then about a couple weeks later, Helena and Camden get married via special license.

Helena and Camden didn’t have to wait for the banns to be read, like Melissa and Logan did. ��Melissa (heroine in Ruined by the Earl) was not invited to the wedding because Helena isn’t good enough friends with her yet. ��She will be by the end of the series. ��But she wasn’t at this point in time.

It all has to do with points of view and how important an event is to each character I’m writing. ��Melissa was so traumatized with her own impending marriage to Logan, she forgot when Helena was getting married until after she got married. ��As for Logan, he was so preoccupied with himself he didn’t��care when the wedding happened, though I did mention it about 1/2 way into the book. ��(I love Logan. ��He’s a lot of fun, but he is self-absorbed.)

But since this whole thing confused my editing team, I added a very brief mention of Helena marrying Camden in Melissa’s thoughts. ��I hope that clears up the confusion, but beyond that, I’d have to go into “narration mode” which is me (the author) interrupting the story to tell you what is happening, and this is a bad storytelling technique. ��So I’m not going to interrupt the flow of the story to go into a huge explanation. ��Instead, I’m doing it here in this post.

If people on my editing team were confused about the timing Helena and Camden’s marriage, then the time frame for the The Earl’s Stolen Bride will confuse everyone. ��The epilogue to Ruined by the Earl takes place in 1817. �� The Earl’s Stolen Bride takes place in 1816. ��The time frame will throw some people off.

I only wrote the epilogue because several people told me they enjoy reading them. ��The epilogue doesn’t really add anything to the story. ��It’s simply an addition to the happy ending. ��You won’t miss anything by not reading it.

But since it is a nice addition to the story, I am going to put it in the email I sent out��to those of you who have signed up for my email list.

So when you get the email from me saying the book is available, I’ll be adding the epilogue below the links. ��Save the epilogue and read it after you finish the book. ��If you aren’t already signed up for my email list, you can do so at this link. ��(You don’t have to put your name in the box. ��It’s optional.)

Also, if you got the email notice when Love Lessons With the Duke was out, you are already on my list, so you don’t have to sign up again. ��I get a few of the same people signing up and don’t know why. ��If you aren’t receiving the emails, maybe they are going to your spam folder.

Lord Toplyn (Hero in Ruined by the Earl) Talks About His Book …. With an Appearance by Melissa (Heroine)

Logan (aka Lord Toplyn) is here to discuss what he thinks about his role in Ruined by the Earl.

***

Today I thought I’d do something I haven’t done in a long time. ��I thought I’d bring in a character from one of my current works in progress to talk to. ��Granted, this book is in its editing stages, but it hasn’t been published yet, which is why I still consider it a work in progress. ��The book isn’t done until it’s published.

Logan: And that would be…?

Ruth: Next weekend. ��This is not on pre-order, so I’ll upload directly to Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and Smashwords. ��From Smashwords, it will take another couple weeks to get up on places like iBooks, Flipkart, Scribd, and other channels Smashwords distributes to. ��I probably won’t be making the post with the links until April 7 because it’s Easter weekend in the United States, and my kids will be off school from April 3-6. ��I’m sure a lot of people will be out of town, too.

But anyway, I brought Logan in because I thought he might be fun to talk to.

Logan: Thank you. ��I happen to agree that I’m a lot of fun.

Ruth: I know you do, Logan. ��But I will add that you are not for everyone. ��My sense of humor appeals to some but not others, so if people enjoyed my other comedic heroes��such as Nathan in What Nathan Wants and Christopher Robinson in His Reluctant Lady, I think they’ll enjoy you, too. ��Logan isn’t the kind of character you should take seriously.

Lord Toplyn (aka Logan)

Logan: Laughter is good for the soul. ��Besides, I’m gorgeous. ��Just look at my picture on the left. ��While you’re reading about me, you can imagine me, sexy and sultry. ��I believe you ladies like to call men like me “eye candy”.

Ruth: Some do. ��Some would just say good looking.

Logan: Well, since you picked out this image, then it only shows you have excellent taste because I would pick this for me, too, even if I’m not shirtless.

Ruth: I don’t like the shirtless guy images, Logan.

Logan: Just so everyone knows, I look awesome without a shirt on. ��My darling rose is about to be very happy she got to marry me instead of that weakling Lord Waxman.

Miss Jasper (aka Melissa)

Melissa:��That’s not true. ��I’m not happy at all to be stuck with you, you cad.

Logan: Wow! ��Melissa, you’re smoking hot! ��I am so glad you’re the heroine in this story. ��If we had a contest for all of Ruth’s heroines, you would be the most beautiful of them all. ��I can’t wait for our wedding night.

Melissa: If you think you’re going to touch me at any time in this book, you’re wrong. �� I will never let you into my bed.

Logan: That’s fine. ��I have no problem with the carriage, a gazebo, a desk, a bench, or any other place your little heart desires. ��Wherever you want to make love to me is fine. ��I’m not picky.

Melissa: Ruth, can’t you make this a sweet romance?

Logan: No way! ��I don’t want to just look at you and give you a chaste kiss. ��You’re way too gorgeous for that kind of thing. ��You need a man who’ll make mad passionate love to you, and often.

Melissa: I’d rather be stuck in a pit of slimy, slithering snakes through the entire story.

Ruth: Actually, snakes aren’t slimy. ��They’re smooth and dry. ��They just appear slimy because of their scales and the way they–

Melissa: Is this a romance or a science book because I fail to see why anyone here cares whether or not snakes are slimy?

Ruth: I just wanted people to know I don’t really think they’re slimy.

Melissa: What an ego. ��Like people care about what you know or don’t know. ��This book isn’t about you. ��It’s about how Logan is going to ruin my life.

Logan: I’ll do nothing of the sort.

Melissa: Yes, you will. ��It’s right there in the title of the book: ��“Ruined by the Earl”

Logan: All right. ��I agree. ��The title should be something else. ��How about “Taken by the Earl” or “Pleasured by the Earl” or “Enraptured by the Earl”?

Melissa: Can your ego get any bigger?

Logan: I have a healthy dose of self-esteem, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Melissa: I wish I’d never been up for the role of your wife. ��I was supposed to marry Lord Waxman.

Lord Waxman

Logan: You mean, this guy? ��Come on. ��He’s a total geek.

Melissa: *gasps* He doesn’t look like that.

Logan: According to me, he does, and since this is primarily a post featuring me, I get to show the world what he is really like.

Melissa: He is not like that at all! ��He’s decent and honorable and kind and–

Logan: I’m yawning already. ��You just listed out a bunch of ridiculous traits that are reminiscent of Lord Roderick in The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife. ��Look, if you want bland and boring, you go to Lord Waxman. ��If you want fun and exciting (and incredibly good looking), you go to me. ��You know what they say, if you want it to be good girl, get yourself a bad boy.

Ruth: Actually, Logan, “If You Want it to be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)” is a song by the Backstreet Boys.

Melissa: Well, aren’t you the walking encyclopedia today. ��First snakes and now this. ��Got anything else you want to annoy us with?

Logan: Regardless, the song fits our spicy romance, Melissa.

Melissa: It’s just my luck I happen to have an author who wants to write sex in her romances.

Ruth:��Oh Melissa, just wait until you see what you end up doing in the book.

Melissa: *frowns* ��What do you have me do?

Ruth: You’ll find out soon enough. ��This post is getting long, and I want to get some more written for my novella “The Marriage Bargain” in A Groom’s Promise before my kids come home from school. ��*leaves*

Melissa: Ruth, you can’t leave me without answering me. ��Ruth? ��Ruth!

Logan: I guess it’s just you and me, my sweet wildflower.

Melissa: *gags and hurries out the door*

Logan: It’s good for her, I’m a patient person. *winks and leaves*

End post

***

Note: I did purchase the image I used for Logan. ��Picture credit: ID 34873258 �� Artofphoto | Dreamstime.com

Note: I also purchased the image I used for Melissa. ��Picture credit:��ID 33605726 �� Victoriaandreas | Dreamstime.com

Note: I also purchased the image I used for Lord Waxman. ��Picture credit:��ID 26398675 �� Viorel Sima | Dreamstime.com

Got the Update on Books I’m Doing

I’m not going to give specific dates on these, but this is what��I’m planning on doing for the rest of the year. ��It doesn’t mean it’ll all be published this year. ��Some things I work on will be out next year.

This is still with one of my awesome editors. ��I have just printed out a couple of chapters to start going over my final read through, which I then will compare to the editor’s notes. ��I can say for sure this will be out in April. ��I’m just not sure of the exact date.

This one will probably be finished first, but it won’t be out until June or July because it is a co-authored book. ��Co-authored projects take longer because there’s someone else involved in the process. ��Also, it will go with my awesome publisher, Parchment & Plume.

I’m doing one novella, and Janet Syas Nitsick is doing the other. ��So this is an anthology. ��Right now I’m at chapter 7. ��I expect there to be 14 chapters, give or take a couple chapters. ��So really, I’m at the halfway point in this one.

I expect to finish this one next, but given the conferences I’ll be going to in April and May, I might not be able to get this out until June. ��At the moment, I’m at chapter 5, and this will be a full-length novel. ��So I’m expected 21-24 chapters total.

I want to get this one out this summer, so I pushed back Royal Hearts. ��I’ve had several people ask me about Richard Larson’s book, but no one has asked about Royal Hearts. ��Because of this, I’m pushing the date back on Royal Hearts. ��I aim to get books out that people are asking for if I can think of a suitable plot to go with it. ��And I do have a good, solid plot for this one…finally. ��This will also go with my publisher, Parchment & Plume.

At the moment, I’m at chapter 3. ��So yeah, I have a ways to go yet.

This is going to be a short, light read. ��It’s a prequel to go with my novella in Bride by Design under the pen name, Barbara Joan Russell. ��I expect this out during the summer, and I plan to make it free since it is going to be so short.

I’m thinking it’ll be about 10 chapters, but we’ll see.

Bride by Convenience (A Mail Order Bride Historical Western Romance)

Cover Coming Soon

I don’t know if I can get this one out in the summer or not. ��If not, it’ll wait until January. ��This is another reason I decided to push Royal Hearts back. ��I want to get this one out this year. ��I’ve been itching to do this story ever since I got the idea for it. ��I was originally going to put it under my pen name, Barbara Joan Russell….but it quickly occurred to me that I want sex in this book. ��It’s important to the romance sex is in it. ��I know sweet mail order bride stories are widely popular, but I have to go in the direction the story wants to go, and when you read it, you’ll understand why sex must be in it. ��The hero’s self-esteem will be too wrapped up in it, which makes it a key element to the plot. ��(I don’t put sex in a book just to have sex in it. ��There is always a point to it.)

I haven’t started this one.

I plan to work on this during the summer months when the kids are home. ��I can’t get much written while they’re off school because I do a lot with them during the summer. ��But I can revise and rewrite rather easily. ��So I shifted this to November. ��I need at least one month for it to be on Smashwords since it’s in pre-order and needs that long to get to B&N, Kobo, and iBooks by the release date. ��Otherwise, I’d plan this out in October. ��(This is just another reason I decided I hate pre-orders.)

While I’m working on Royal Hearts, I figured I might as well work on The Royal Pursuit, which also needs a revision/rewrite. ��Since it’s light work, it can be done in the summer.

Stephannie and I are currently working on modifying this one. ��I’m going to plan this one out for January, but it’s possible we might get it ready before then. ��We’re really about halfway into it. ��We’re swapping scenes and doing some light rewrites when necessary.

We are going to work on this one, too. ��We need to clean up The Rancher’s Wife before getting to it, though. ��Like the one above, we’re about halfway into this one. ��I have no idea when it’ll be out.

Pushing Back Some Release Dates for My Upcoming Books

This isn’t something I want to do, but after signing up to go on two conferences (one in April and another at the end of May) and finding out one of my kids threw up today, I began to feel stressed out. ��And after taking a moment to sit down and evaluate why I was feeling overwhelmed, I realized it was the fact that I’m not near being done where I need to be. ��If I want to make my current deadlines, I’d have to sprint it, and if I do that, I might lose the quality in the work.

Since I’m probably going to have a series of kids getting sick in the next couple days, I’m going to have to figure out new release months for the current works in progress. ��I don’t want to make any rash decisions. ��I want to have time to sit and think it through. ��Right now, I’m frazzled. ��It’s been one of those days, and I’m not thinking straight. ��What I do know is that I need to push back the release months so I don’t get stuck feeling like I need to frantically finish up my books.

I’m sorry. ��I know some of you pre-ordered Royal Hearts. ��I’m going to try to push back the month on this one. ��There’s just too many other things going on.

And I promise I will never do a pre-order ever again. ��I can’t handle the pressure it brings.

Mini Spring Break Vacation

This post will be more of a personal nature, though since I love writing than just about anything, I’m sure something writing related is going to pop up.

For the past few days, my husband, four kids, and I have been on a vacation. ��They have Spring Break,��and we decided to take some of the days they have to visit with the grandparents. ��(This is on my husband’s side. ��My parents have gone to be with the Lord.) ��We’ve been doing the usual stuff, taking walks on nature trails, letting the kids burn off energy at the pool and the parks, and visiting.

I’ll share one picture of two of the kids. ��The one in the white shirt has a real sense of humor and jokes around a lot. ��This picture really shows it, which is why I’m sharing it.

It’s been a fun and relaxing trip. ��We had some excellent temperatures, too. ��Summer is just around the corner. ��In my family, we love the pool and spend a lot of summer days there. ��I love sitting under an umbrella and writing on my laptop while the kids play. ��We used to go to parks all the time, but the oldest is now 12 and the parks are starting to become boring to him. ��So we’ve opted for the pool more often than not.

One nice thing about vacation is that I always come back refreshed and ready to write. ��(I knew I’d start talking about writing in this post. ��I can’t get away from it. ��Even when I’m on vacation, I’m thinking of what to put in my next book.)

And last night while the kids were swimming, I pulled out my laptop (which managed to get a 2-day reprieve from me) and started writing. ��This time, I was writing my novella “The Shy Groom” in the anthology A Groom’s Promise.

I also caught up on some reading in the car, but I’m still not done with Snake by Rami Ungar or The Daddy Pact by Kristy K. James. ��I did get a beta read in for Catherine Lynn. ��Progress is just slow when it comes to reading because I want to get the next book out, and in order to do that, I need to write it. ��I’m just going to have to accept it. ��I don’t read fast anyway, and it’s hard to get a lot of books in when you do good just to get in a full-length novel in a month. ��If it’s 500 pages, it’s longer. ��But see, I’m usually editing while I’m writing, too, so that all adds up to time taken out. ��So it is what it is, and I’ve finally come to accept it. �� This is why I love novellas so much. ��They’re easier to finish.