Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 64

FB Party for Bride by Design Release is on February 17!

Catherine Lynn and I are hosting a party on Facebook to celebrate the release of our anthology! ��We hope you’ll hop on over to chat with us as we discuss weddings and anything else on your mind. :) ��The party is on February 17, and it’ll be an all-day event.

Where is the Party?
Here’s the link to the party!

We have lots of prizes to give out, so I’m going to post them on this blog for easy reference.

Where Do You Enter?

Please enter on the actual FB page. ��We are pinning this post to the very top and will have ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY on it. ��This is where you will enter for the giveaway. ��(We need to have one entry place to help keep everything organized. :D)

How Will We Pick Winners?

Through random.org.

When Will Winners Be Announced?

February 18 around 7-8pm Central Standard Time (United States). ��You can enter for the giveaway anywhere from February 16 when we post this on Facebook to February 18 7pm. We want to be sure people in other countries have a chance to win.

Some Prizes Are Open for International Winners

Please check to make sure the particular prize is open for people outside the United States. ��We will list which prizes are open to International winners. ��All prizes are open to US winners. ��(Gift cards don’t always work in other countries, which is why we can’t gift those to international winners.)

What Can You Win?

Below is a list of all the prizes. ��Just put in the # you want to enter for in your comment on the FB page. ��You can pick as many prizes as you want, but you can only win one of those numbers. ��For example, if you pick #3 and #5, random.org might only select you as the winner for #5.

If you have already purchased Bride by Design, then I’ll offer a copy of Ruined by the Earl when it comes out in either late March or early April. ��(I forgot to mention this party sooner on this blog, and I know some of you have already bought Bride by Design.)

Now for the Prizes….

#1: Necklace and Earrings + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US Winners

# 2: ��Necklace and Earrings + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US Winners

#3: Necklace and Earrings + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon and Smashwords): Open to US Winners

#4: Necklace and Earrings + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US Winners

#5: Choker + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US Winners

#6: Necklace + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US and International Winners

#7: Necklace + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US and International Winners

#8: Necklace + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US and International Winners

#9: Necklace and Earrings + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US and International Winners

#10: Earrings + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US and International Winners

#11: ��$25 Amazon Gift Card + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords) : Open to US Winners

#12: $25 Amazon Gift Card + Bride by Design Ebook (gifted from Amazon or Smashwords): Open to US Winners

Love Lessons With The Duke Is Now Available

I know I’m a little late in getting this out, but I spent a good portion of the weekend getting everything ready to send into my accountant. ��Since I’m not the most organized person on the planet, I’m sure I missed something. :)

Anyway, Love Lessons With the Duke is now out, and I’m going to post the links before I forget. ��On Tuesday, I need to get another post up, so I’m going to need to get this out tonight.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s!

This is book 2 in the Marriage by Deceit Series. ��

Camden Hollis, the Duke of Ashbourne, needs to pay off his brother���s debts, but all he has is a troubled estate. So when he hears that Lady Seyton is known for teaching ladies what to do to secure marriages by the end of the Season, he comes to her for help.

Helena Walter, the Lady of Seyton, doesn���t know what to think of Camden���s unusual request. How could a titled gentleman who is so good looking need help getting a wife? Her initial response is to turn him down, thinking he is merely wasting her time. But then she catches him bumbling through a conversation with a lady, and realizes he���more than anyone���needs her help.

And so the lessons begin. But before long, Camden is convinced she���s the perfect one for him. She, however, is a widow and is happy with her freedom. He might find it���ll require a scandal to get the two things he wants most: a love match and securing his estate.

Books in the Marriage by Deceit Series

Book 1: The Earl’s Secret Bargain

Book 2: Love Lessons With The Duke

Book 3: Ruined by the Earl – coming out either late March or early April

Book 4: The Earl’s Stolen Bride – coming out before June

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iBooks

Kobo

Smashwords

Flipkart

 

Bride by Design is Available One Day Sooner Than I Expected

Since I was such a stinker in the last post, I thought it was only fair to let you know the book already went up. ��Parchment & Plume (my publisher) is quick!

So without further ado, here are the links:

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

Smashwords

Will be out in iBooks Soon (no link available yet)

Bride by Design: Excerpt from “Online Proposal”: Why Would Someone Do This?

This post is simply to tease you into wanting to read this book, which is due out on Valentine’s Day!

I’m not going to explain why Sadie did this, but��since it is my favorite scene, I wanted to share it.

Sadie stopped the car in the middle of the road. ���There is one thing I should do first.���

Before Colleen could ask what her friend was doing, Sadie pulled the lever to open the trunk and hopped out of the car. After a couple of seconds of sorting through the trunk, she went to the front of the car and dumped two gifts on the road. Despite the situation, Colleen couldn���t help but laugh when she realized those gifts were from Dot.

Sadie returned to the driver���s seat and glanced at her. ���Sometimes words aren���t enough to express what we���re truly thinking.��� She shifted into drive, drove over the gifts, backed up, drove over them again, and smiled. ���I don���t know about you, but I feel a lot better.���

���Are you going to return them to her?��� Colleen asked.

���No. I just wanted to get my frustrations out.���

���It���s not a bad way to do it,��� Colleen admitted.

If Sadie had been in the bedroom when Dot gave her the gift, she wondered if Sadie would have stomped all over it in front of her. That would have been fun to watch!

Sadie got out of the car and collected the ruined gifts. She threw them on the floor in the back then returned to the driver���s seat. ���There���s no reason to litter,��� she said. ���I���ll ditch them in the first trashcan we find.���

Colleen grinned at her. ���You know what I love most about you?���

���The fact that I���ll drive over gifts, no matter how expensive they are when the person who gave them to us is a you-know-what?���

���You got it.���

Sadie returned her smile. ���That���s what friends are for.���

***

I know, I know. ��I’m a big stinker for leaving you wondering why Sadie is running over gifts, but if I explained why Sadie ran over these gifts, then I’d spoil the book.

A Small Link Between With This Ring I Thee Dread and My Novella In Bride By Design

Okay, so under my pen name, Barbara Joan Russell, I have written a novella titled “Online Proposal” in the Bride by Design anthology I’m doing with Catherine Lynn. ��This will be out in mid-February, in case you’re interested. ��It is a sweet contemporary romance that is loosely based off my real life since I met my husband through a series of emails. ��(We met through AOL Personal Ads. ��I don’t know how many of you remember those, but this was in the 1999 to 2000 time frame).

All that aside, while I was writing “Online Proposal”, I thought I’d take one of the commercials Ryan Jackson came up with in With This Ring I Thee Dread and have some characters discuss in this story. ��This commercial involved a��man who wanted to propose to his girlfriend but was so nervous, he sent a dog with a ring to do it for him. ��Ryan does this once he starts to understand what women find romantic.

Below is the scene where he is forming the idea for the commercial:

A thought came to Ryan out of nowhere but he quickly developed it before it slipped his mind. What if there was a friendly, cuddly dog in front of [a woman] and that dog was carrying a small box around his collar? In that box could be an engagement ring with a proposal. Women had a hard time resisting cute animals. Perhaps the man who intended to propose had thought up a million ways to pop the question. Too nervous to go to her in person to ask it, he got his dog to do it for him. She could be wearing a white dress. It would be symbolic of a wedding. Women found weddings romantic since it was the joining of two people who loved each other and the dog would be cute and funny. He wrote his thoughts down on the paper before he lost his creative edge.

Since one of the characters in “Online Proposal” is an actress who was in this particular commercial, I thought I’d include the mention of it in one of the scenes in my story. ��Here is the part in “Online Proposal” where the women attending a bridal shower talk about the commercial:

The combined bridal showers were nice. The women who came out seemed like people Colleen would like to know. At the moment, Dot was telling them about her roles in several commercials.

���My favorite commercial was the one for an engagement ring,��� Dot told the group. ���It combined jewelry and romance, and it had a cute little story with it.���

���I saw that one,��� one of the young women, probably about twenty, said. ���There was a dog wearing a tux who brought you the ring.���

���Right,��� Dot replied, seeming pleased that the woman had seen it. ���The boyfriend was too bashful to do it himself.���

���I liked it because of the dog,��� Millie said.

The group chuckled, and Colleen looked over at Sadie again, wondering if her friend agreed that this bridal shower was more about Dot than it was about either of them. Sadie rolled her eyes. Holding back a giggle, Colleen turned her attention back to Dot.

���The dog was adorable,��� Dot agreed. ���It took forty-two takes for it to bring me the ring, though.���

***

Anyway, I thought some of you might enjoy knowing there’s a small part of “Online Proposal” that was inspired from a book I’ve done in the past. :D

Books, Email List, A Facebook Party, and Upcoming Videos

I got a lot of exciting stuff going on, and since it’s all running through my mind, I’m probably going to make a very long post. ��I’ll try not to get bogged down with too much description.

Next weekend I have two books coming out, and both are due out on the same day: Valentine’s Day. ��:D ��

This is book 2 in the Marriage by Deceit Series. ��Remember Lady Seyton who was helping Regina (in book 1–The Earl’s Secret Bargain) secure a betrothal? ��She was at the very end of book 1 and announced she had agreed to help a gentleman find a wife. ��Well, this is that story.

This is a sweet contemporary romance anthology. ��There is no sex at all in these books, and I’d even go so far as to say the rating is PG. ��Very tame, like A Bride for Tom. ��Since it is clean, I used the pen name Barbara Joan Russell. ��This is being published with Parchment & Plume.

My novella is Online Proposal which features a hero and heroine who met online. (I have a post or two I scheduled about this novella that will go up this week).

But Catherine Lynn’s novella, Tristan’s Redemption, features a hero who’s given up on the very notion of love. ��Then a stubborn dark-haired spitfire comes into his life. ;)

Really quick, I want to mention two things before I go back to talking about books:

1. ��Catherine and I will be doing a Facebook Party on February 17 to celebrate the release of Bride by Design. ��Here’s the link if you want to check it out!

This will be an all-day party so people in all countries have a chance to win the prizes. ��Some prizes will be available to international winners (ebooks and some jewelry), but there are a couple that will only be available to United States winner (like $25 Amazon gift cards). ��Sorry guys, but last year when I gave a gift card to an international winner, the country wouldn’t honor it because it was in US currency. ��So to be safe, gift cards will not be available to international winners.

I’ve posted��some pictures of the giveaway prizes over on the Facebook Party Page if you want to see some of the gifts we’re offering.

2. ��Below is a form to fill out if you want to be on my email list. ��(If you are already receiving emails from me when I have a new book out, then you are already on this list and will automatically receive what I’m offering below.)

I have already written a 2,000-word prequel for the release of Love Lessons with the Duke and another 2,000-word backstory to go with Bride by Design. ��I am only going to give these short stories to the people on my email list as a way of saying thank you for being on it. ��I’ve been wanting to offer something extra to those of you on it for a while now, but until a week ago, I had no idea what that could be. ��Thanks to an online conference I attended, I got the idea for the 2,000-word story to in line with the book that is being released.

If you haven’t signed up to be on my email list but would like to, here’s the form. (The first name is optional.)

[contact-form]

I do plan to keep making these short stories to go with each new release I have coming out because I think they’re a lot of fun. ��So this will be an ongoing thing I’ll do.

Now, back to the books…

I am currently in Chapter 16 of this book, which means I’m over halfway there. ��I’m still hoping for a March release. ��*fingers crossed* ��But worse comes to worse, it’ll be out in April for sure.

I haven’t made much progress in this one, I’m afraid. ��I’m only in chapter five. �� This might not be out until May if this pace continues.

Stephannie Beman will take this cover and make it look better. But this will be the “look” for the new cover.

Good news. ��I am getting nice progress on this one. ��It’s looking like there should be no problems getting this one out this summer. ��At the moment I’m in chapter four.

I haven’t touched this in over a month. ��Eek, I know. ��But I am 10,000 words into it, and it’ll probably 40,000 words long. ��So I’m not as far off schedule as it sounds since it looks like this might be a June release. ��*fingers crossed*

Now for videos…

I had a lot of fun making the one I did in the last post. ��It took me a good three hours to figure out how to upload it from iMovies to You Tube because it was connected to the wrong You Tube account. ��(I have one for me as the author and one for my family. ��It kept going to my family’s one. ��So I had to save it to my computer then go into my You Tube account and upload it directly.) ��But it worked, so now I know what I’m doing.

So does anyone questions for me? ��It can be something personal, something about my books, something about writing/publishing/promotion, or if you want my opinion on something. ��As long as it’s clean, I’m willing to answer it.

Janet Syas Nitsick and I will be doing some videos together.�� (Janet wrote Bride by Arrangement with me and is writing A Groom’s Promise with me.) ��Some for authors on the Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors blog and some on this blog. ��We have some ideas that we’re working on. ��But, if there are any questions you have for both of us (even if it’s just for her), feel free to ask.

Writing Historical Romances….How Do You Get Into the Historical Mindset?

I asked for questions you might have, so I could answer them by video. ��One question I got was how to best write��a historical novel. ��In addition to answering this in video, I’ll write out my answer so if you’re unable to play the video, you can read it. ��(The video is 8.5 minutes long. ��In the future, I hope to get the videos to less than 5 minutes.)

When you’re starting out with historical fiction, it can be intimidating because we live in a ��contemporary world where we got so used to modern conveniences, we don’t naturally think “historical”. ��But if your heart is set in writing historical fiction, such as historical romance, don’t let the fear of not being fully authentic to the time period stop you from your dream.

If you take a look at my reviews, especially of my older books such as An Inconvenient Marriage, you’ll find I didn’t so well when I started out in historical romances. ��But you know what? ��It’s all a learning curve. ��You get better with each book you write. ��You will get a better feel for the time period with each new book. ��And before you know it, when you start a new book, you’ll feel like you’re right there. ��These days when I do historical western romances, I truly do feel like I’m in the middle of that time period. ��I can see, hear, and smell things clearly. ��It took me about four years before I was comfortable writing it, and I started back in 2007.

So I get how intimidating it can be. ��It intimidated me, too, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the most historically authentic historical romance writer out there. ��But to be honest, the historical romance time period in genre fiction is wallpaper. ��It’s not the focus of the story.

Always Keep Your Focus on the Main Character

Everything in every scene of every book needs to have at its core the character whose point of view you’re writing for that scene. ��If the character has nothing to do with something in the background, there’s no reason to include it. ��People reading your books will fill in the gaps. ��What is crucial is that you only pay attention to things that the character actually needs in order to advance the plot. ��For example, if the character needs to keep warm��in the winter, mention the box stove in the bedroom. ��There’s no need to go into the type of bed the character’s on, what material the wardrobe is made out of, or what the walls look like. ��Sometimes less is more. ��Trying to cram too much of the setting into the story can pull the reader out of the character’s head. ��And you don’t want that to happen.

Now that I’ve added the disclaimer about keeping the character first, I’m going to offer a couple of tips to help research the time period of your choice.

1. ��Read two or three books in the genre you’re writing, and make sure these books are from big publishing houses.

Why would I suggest this? ��Because big publishing houses will have editors who know what they’re doing. ��If they don’t, they’ll get fired. ��Big publishers have their reputation to protect. ��As much as I love self-publishing, there is no checks and balances on self-published books. ��Some self-published writers have editors. ��Some don’t. ��Some have good editors. ��Some have lousy editors. ��So I think a good rule of thumb is to go with a big publisher’s book. ��Find a topic that interests you, and read the book.

When I started out, I would mark up pages with a pen and earmark the pages. ��In an ereader, you can highlight text and make notes. ��I would specifically look for��items people used back then that is mentioned in the book, like cow chips which could be used to heat up a sod house in the winter time or a kerosene lamp which a character uses to light up the place. ��These are wallpaper items that can be easily tucked into the story.

2. Research.

You can look up information online, in a library, through a show like the History Channel. There are many ways you can find out��when things were invented, and you can browse some blog posts by doing a search for something you’re interested in, like wagon trains.

3.. ��Visit old homes or towns. ��Take a tour if you can.

I have learned so much more from taking a guided tour through historical homes and towns than by researching or reading books. ��For example, when I wrote my Native American Romance Series, which featured the Mandan Indians in North Dakota, I read a couple books written which explained their lifestyle, and there were some pictures and drawings in it. ��But when I took a trip to North Dakota and went to the Bismarck Heritage Center (where someone was kind enough to talk about some of the artifacts they still had from that tribe) and took a guided tour through one of the Mandan villages outside of Mandan, I learned so much more than I did reading the books. ��Seeing the items in person and being in a earthen lodge with what they used and hearing someone explain the typical day just really put me right there in that time period.

Another example was going to the 1880’s Town in South Dakota, where they keep the houses and businesses from that time period in good condition. ��They even��had the furnishings, clothing, and every day items people used (like cookstoves and pots). ��And if you wanted, you could wear a costume from that time period. ��Below, I’ll attach a picture of my four sons who wanted to dress up like boys did back in 1880.

***

But with all of this being said, nothing replaces the physical act of sitting down and writing your book. ��It’ll probably feel awkward at first because you’re not used to writing historical fiction. ��But press through this phase. ��It might take a couple books before you feel comfortable, but you’ll never get there if you don’t start. ��And, if ��you have a good editing team, these people can go a long way in helping you iron out the pesky little details of the time period. ��Here’s my post on polishing up your book with a good editing team.

I Finally Finished Battle Royale

I know I started this way back in November, and I was making good progress. ��But then in mid-December I had until mid-January to write a novella to have it ready for my publisher, Parchment & Plume, so it can come out around February 14. ��Reading for fun always gets pushed to the side when I’m under a deadline.

But last night, I finally sat down and finished it.

***Spoilers alert below***

This is my post when I was halfway into it.

The nice thing about this particular story is that a couple of the teens who were forced into the fight to the death (until one survivor remained) beat the system. ��My favorite character was��Shogo Kawada. ��He had survived the game the previous year, and this��gave him an advantage to help out the two main characters (Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa) escape. �� The reason Kawada was my favorite was because he was willing to risk everything to help these two. ��I fully expected him to die somehow, and I was right. ��He did. ��But this was one case where the death of my favorite character was satisfying (instead of depressing), and I think it was because it was one of the most noble deaths I’ve ever read about.

His death had meaning. ��He wasn’t one of those sappy “poor me” characters. ��He knew what he was up against and didn’t break. ��He saw everything to the end, and he saw it with class. ��I don’t know how else to explain it than that, but he is probably one of my favorite characters I’ve ever read. ��He gave up himself for the sake of the two characters–so they could have a future.

This is not a warm and fuzzy book. ��There is a happy ending for the two main characters. ��They survive and there’s no doubt they love each other. ��But there is definitely a lot of sorrow and violence to go through to reach this point. ��Our main characters never disappointed me. ��They were good the entire time and acted with dignity. ��They didn’t sacrifice their values to get to the end. ��These were characters you could respect the whole way through.

So yeah, the nature of this book isn’t for those who want a warm and fuzzy read. ��It’s pretty nitty gritty and rough. ��But I can see why this book was so popular in Japan and why it’s been translated into other languages. ��I think despite everything, the message is not to give up, to keep on hoping. This is probably a universal theme we have as humans. ��No matter how bad things get, we like to keep hoping we can somehow make things better by the choices we make, that individual freewill can prevail despite our circumstances.

I’m not sure this all made sense. ��Kids are off of school today due to the weather, and they’re either buzzing around me or trying to unlock a door they locked on purpose (to see if they could unlock it).

Rami, I’m going to start Snake tonight. ��:)

Got the New Cover for Bride by Design and Update on the Video Idea

And it’s better than the other one! ��I was so upset when I found out the other one wouldn’t work because it was beautiful, but this one is even better. ��Now I’m glad we had to go with another cover. ��Anya Kelleye did it, and it’s gorgeous, isn’t it?

Catherine Lynn and I will be doing a Facebook Party for this when it comes out. ��I’ll have more details in the next week or two.

***

In other news, I finally figured out how to record a video off my computer. ��I know, I know. �� This really isn’t complicated. ��But the thing is, I knew where to find the program on my old PC. ��I didn’t know where to find it on the Mac, which is what I use now. ��I opened up iMovie then went to File…Import Media. ��Then FaceTime HD Camera showed up in the left column, and it allowed me to record something. ��I know you can do it in Quick Time Player, too, because I did it last night, but I can’t remember how I got it to record right now.

I should be able to post videos on here soon. ��I’m not as tech savvy as a lot of other people, so this is a huge learning curve for me. ��If you have any other questions you’d like to know about me, my books, writing, publishing, or marketing, feel free to ask. :D

New Cover Coming Soon for Bride by Design, Videos Coming Soon (Hopefully), and Email List Sign Up

New Cover Coming Soon For Bride By Design

First things first, due to unforeseen circumstances, Catherine Lynn and I have to change the cover of our anthology, Bride by Design. ��I know. ��It’s a bummer, but sometimes things happen, and you have to be flexible. ��I’ll post the new cover when it’s done.

Will Be Experimenting With Videos

I’m nervous, but excited, about this idea, but I think it’s worth trying out. ��I have a couple ideas in mind. ��One is to do a Facebook Party for an hour and then move on to a live video where people can ask me questions and get answers directly. ��The video will be one way. ��I’ll be the only one on screen, but there will be a chat program on the side of the screen where people can ask me whatever is on their mind. ��Since I am incredibly shy and awkward when I’m doing new things, I have asked Janet Syas Nitsick to join me because she’s experienced with giving presentations. ��(Janet and I live in the same town, so it’s easy for us to get together in the same room to do videos.)

Janet and I are also looking at doing some videos over on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. ��We’d like to start with short segments, and once we get familiar with the chat option, we will start small and work our way up.

In the next month, we’ll be experimenting with a sight I just signed up to do these video presentations. ��I’m looking forward to trying something new. ��It might work or it might not. ��But I’ll never know unless I try.

Email List

If you are currently receiving emails from me via MailChimp when I have a new release out, you are already on my list. ��There’s no need to fill out the form.

If you would like to be notified when I have a new release out, please fill out the form below, and I’ll put the information into MailChimp. ��I find MailChimp is easier to use than manually putting in email addresses or trying to use my address book on Yahoo. ��(Long story short, Yahoo thinks I’m spamming and limits how many I can email at a time. ��MailChimp doesn’t.)

[contact-form]

I’m trying to look for extra things to add to the new release email. ��So far, ideas like a special discount��for a past book to use at Smashwords or doing a scene prior to the start of the new release (that won’t be available on this blog) have come to mind. ��I want to add something special if you’re on my list instead of always putting in a bunch of links.

So if you have other ideas, please let me know. ��I can only use one idea per email because of time restraints. ��I still have to take care of the family. :) ��So this will have to be simple.

I forgot to add, I will only email you when there’s a new release out. ��I don’t believe in spamming anyone.