Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 65

My “Tips for New Writers” Ebook Is Up On Smashwords

I know this one took me forever to get to with edits. ��Technically, it was ready in December, but I was busy with working on “Online Proposal” for the Bride by Design, the contemporary sweet romance anthology I’m doing with Catherine Lynn. ��Then I was getting back into a writing routine and going back to working on several books at a time.

Once I got that ball rolling, I went to work on the series of posts I did on this blog for helping new writers with the storytelling craft. ��I wanted to put the posts into a book to make it easy to get the information in one place.

This book is short. ��It’s about 10,000 words long.

If you want, you can download the entire book for free over at Smashwords. ��I am going to have it distributed to Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Oyster, Scribd, Flipkart, and other places Smashwords distributes to. ��I decided not to put it on Amazon because it’s iffy if I could get it to go free over there.

I am in the process of making this a paperback book.

Right now it’s only on Smashwords. ��I don’t know how long it’ll take to get on the other channels.

Click here for the Smashwords link!

Topics include the following:

Starting With An Idea
Picking Your Genre
The Proper Use of Backstory
Point of View
Characters are the Heart of the Story
Your Setting (aka World): The Character is Always Key
When You Get Stuck
If the Scene Doesn���t Add to the Plot, Throw It Out
If You Never Finish a Story
There Is No Perfect Time To Write, So Write Today
Polishing Up Your Book

Wagon Trail Bride: Flash Fiction (A Flashback Scene)

This takes place in a flashback scene Amanda has in the middle of the book. It takes us back to a dark time in her past. I think I just figured out what happened to her, but I have to write more to know for sure.

I redid the cover because I wanted the Pioneer Series to have a new look. ��I think the Pioneer Series will be three books total. ��Book 1 is Richard and Amanda’s story.

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

Amanda slowly gained consciousness. She hadn���t expected to. She honestly believed she wasn���t ever going to wake up again. But she had. And the first thing she was aware of was her disappointment. She thought it was finally over, but it wasn���t. She was still alive, and because of that, she still had to deal with the pain.

Releasing a long breath, she focused in on her surroundings, fully expecting the familiar chill of the early morning on her face or the sound of a rat scampering somewhere near a trashcan nearby. Instead, she was warm. In fact, she couldn���t remember the last time she���d been more comfortable. Someone had tucked a blanket around her and, if she guessed right, put her in a soft bed. Her head rested on a feather pillow. Her boots had been removed, though her clothes were still on.

Part of her wanted to go back to sleep, but another part of her had to find out where she was and who was with her. She forced her eyes open. The room was dim. The only source of light came from a kerosene lamp a few feet away. It took her a moment to focus in on the small table holding the lamp. Next to it was a full glass of water. Beyond the table was a small window, and through the thin curtains, she saw it was night.

Where was she? And, more importantly, who brought her here?

She closed her eyes again to give herself time to wake up. The silence should have probably alarmed her, but she found it soothing. After all the creepy noises in the alley, it was nice not to worry about something���or someone���finding her. Better yet, nothing crawled over her.

With a shiver, she opened her eyes again. This time, her gaze went lower from the window, and she saw someone sitting in a chair in the shadows. She stiffened for a moment but then realized it was Richard Larson and relaxed. She didn���t think she had any fight left in her, but for the instant she thought it might be someone else, the desire to live had sparked through her. She thought for sure the spark was gone forever. But apparently, the will to live was stronger than she imagined.

���What happened to you?��� Richard asked, his voice soft in the still room.

She hadn���t seen him in over a year, and the first thing he said to her had to be the hardest thing to answer. She closed her eyes, thinking he might assume she hadn���t heard him, that she had fallen back asleep.

But she heard footsteps and couldn���t help but open her eyes again. Richard was kneeling in front of her. He seemed to be intent on studying her, and usually such concentration would make her squirm, but she sensed something in his expression that hovered between concern and tenderness.

He reached out, as if to touch her, then changed his mind. After a moment, he said, ���We grew up together. You know me. You knew you could trust me. It wasn���t like I was a stranger. Last night, I found you in an alley, wrapped up in garbage to keep warm.��� He glanced up at the ceiling and shook his head. ���I don���t understand. I���ve been going over our entire lives in my mind, and I can���t think of a single time when I ever made you think you couldn���t come to me if you needed help.��� When his gaze returned to hers, there were tears in his eyes. ���I���d never let you live like that. Why didn���t you ask for help?���

She didn���t know what to tell him. How was she supposed to say she couldn���t take advantage of him? Of course, he���d help her, but that���s who he was. He deserved better. A lot happened since she last saw him. And even now, she didn���t want to think about it. It was why she���d hoped she���d never wake up. Then the nightmare would be over.

���Won���t you tell me something?��� he asked.

She wanted to tell him to take her back to the alley, that she wasn���t worth saving. But by the expression on his face she knew that would hurt him more than anything else she could say. Richard Larson had no idea just how dark people could get. He was all light and laughter. He���d always been that way since they were children. But darkness could block out light and pain made people stop laughing. Even in the small apartment he���d taken her to had shadows that crept up on the light around it.

���I can���t tell you,��� she whispered.

She���d hurt him. She could see it in his eyes. Just one sentence, and she���d managed to strike him without trying. She pulled the blanket over her head so she wouldn���t have to keep looking at him. It was better to pretend he wasn���t there.

He stayed there, by the bed, for the longest time. She was beginning to think he was going to stay there all night, kneeling in front of her, watching her. She held her breath and waited, her heartbeat picking up in dread. Was he going to insist she tell him?

Finally, he rose to his feet and walked away. Relieved, she released her breath, unaware her lungs had begun to hurt from holding it for so long. She didn���t know where he went, nor did she bother to check. It was much better to stay hidden under the blanket and keep silent. The less he knew, the better. One thing she always liked about him was his light, and she���d never do anything to take it away.

Done with the First Draft of Online Proposal!

I am thrilled to announce I just finished my novella under my pen name, Barbara Joan Russell! ��This puts me right on track for its release in February (around the 14th).

Anya Kelleye did an excellent job on the cover! :D

As Barbara Joan Russell, I write sweet romances. ��The most that ever happened in this novella was a kiss. ��The storyline just didn’t call more than that. ��This is a cute and fun story with some funny moments. ��It’s something you read when you want a lighthearted and easy read.

The total word count was 34,000, which is about 11 chapters plus an epilogue. ��It’s about the same length as A Husband for Margaret.

In addition to the cover, I also have a description for my novella in the anthology. �� I’ll post Catherine Lynn’s when she has hers done.

Here it is:

Colleen O���Hara���s friend is playing matchmaker. Not only is her friend tossing her a bridal bouquet, but she has the perfect man in mind for her to marry. All she needs is Colleen���s permission to give Mr. Perfect her email address.

And Drake Reed sounds wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, Colleen accepts his online proposal. But before vows are exchanged, she will visit him. Unfortunately, there���s one small snag preventing her from her happy ending. And that snag happens to be someone he used to have a crush on in high school.

Updates On What I’m Doing

Love Lessons With The Duke is Due out February 14

His Convenient Wife went out without any problems, so hopefully, this will be the same.

Bride By Design Might Be Out on February 14, too (This is published under my pen name Barbara Joan Russell)

I don’t have a cover yet for this anthology, but we do have a title for it.  The title is Bride By Design.  The anthology consists of two sweet contemporary romances.

My novella is Online Proposal, and Catherine Lynn’s is Tristan’s Redemption.  Anya Kelleye will be the one designing the cover.  Catherine Lynn and I will publish the anthology with Parchment & Plume.

At the moment, I am about 6,000 words away from finishing the first draft.  I expect it to be about the same length as A Husband for Margaret, which is just over 30,000 words.  I did some trimming today while editing and am currently at 26,300 words.  So this puts me an expected word count of 32,000, which makes this a novella.

I’m hoping to get the first draft done this upcoming week.  Then it’s off to my editing team.  I don’t usually rush these things, but when working on books with other authors, the deadline has to be something that works for both parties.

I need to work on a description for my novella.  Hopefully, I’ll have one up next time I do an “updates” post.

Ruined by the Earl is Now Projected to Late March For Its Release

As long as I can hit the March-April deadline, I’ll be happy.  I found the vows they used in the Regency era and what was and wasn’t done, so I had some fun recently writing the wedding scene.  Needless to say, neither hero nor heroine were willing to make the whole affair go through without misbehaving.  These two are proving to be one of the funnest couples I’ve ever written.  I’m enjoying this one immensely.

A Groom’s Promise

I’m not sure when this will be out.  It’s another co-authored anthology, except it’s historical western.  At the moment I’m still just below 10,000 words.  Due to other projects, I haven’t been able to get to this one.  Plus, it’s probably going to be at least 35,000 words, so it’s not something I can get out really fast.  I have tried to write stories 25,000 words or less, but apparently, it’s not something I naturally do.  If I do novellas, they seem to hover in the 30,000 word range.  If I do a full-length novel, I tend to settle in the 60,000-70,000 word range on average.  There have been a couple times I’ve hit the 50,000 mark instead, but that’s rare.

The Earl’s Stolen Book

Right now I’m hoping to have this book out after A Groom’s Promise comes out.  If that is the case, this will be my 50th romance.  That means I’ll be halfway to my goal of 100 books, which is exciting for me.  I’ll have to have a FB Party to celebrate. :D

This one follows Ruined by the Earl and will conclude the Marriage by Deceit Series.  I already have plans started for a third Regency series, which I’ve already called Marriage by Arrangement.  But I won’t be starting any books in it until at least the end of this year.

I have Royal Hearts, Wagon Trail Bride, and possibly In Royal Pursuit to work on.  I need to finish up the Enchanted Galaxy Series.  I also want to get Richard Larson’s book done.  I think these books might be all I can get out this year.  But we’ll see.  I can get more out before summer because the kids are still in school, leaving me ample free time in the days.

Why Getting Older Can Mean Getting Better

Yes, I realize youth has its advantages.  You’re naturally better looking (lack of wrinkles, skin isn’t sagging in certain places, no need to color the hair, etc).  You can get away with less sleep a lot easier.  I remember pulling all nighters in college then sleeping for a couple hours without any problem.  I could eat junk food and not get sick.

But when I was thinking about it today, I realized I would rather be 40 than 30 or even 20.  My parents used to say if they had the choice, they wouldn’t go back and do it all over again.  When they told me this, I was a teenager, and I couldn’t understand why they’d pass up the chance to be a teen again.  I had a lot of fun as a teenager.  I also had fun in college.  I enjoyed my 20’s, etc.    I always thought when I was 40, I’d be wishing I could go back and reliving those periods of my life.

But I’m not.  In fact, I am more excited about life than I’ve ever been before.  I think the best is yet to come, and here’s why:

1.  Getting Older Means Making Better Decisions

I really wish I had known back then what I know now.  I made some really stupid mistakes when I was younger.  For example, I like people who didn’t even like me take advantage of me.  Why?  Because I felt like I had to be nice and being nice was doing what they wanted.  You know the type of people I’m talking about.  These are the ones who want to tell you all their troubles or need to do something for them.  But the minute you need someone, they are conveniently busy.    Then, if you dare say no because you do have something going on that is important (like having to take care of a sick kid or going to the store to pick up milk because you’re out and need it for dinner), they find a way to make you feel guilty for not being there for them when they “needed” someone.

I said yes when I should have said no.  This resulted in me letting these people walk all over me.  I wish I had spent more time being nice to those people who cared about me, the ones who understood when I was busy and were there for me when I needed someone.  The users in life just aren’t worth it.  I don’t care if they are family.  Being family doesn’t mean it’s okay to let them walk all over you.  You have the right to say no and, more importantly, you have the right to not feel guilty for it.

Getting older has allowed me to understand I have the right to set boundaries down with people.  Yes, it’s important to be kind and helpful, but that shouldn’t be at the expense of your family, health, career, God, or whatever else is important in your life.  Sometimes you have to say no to the wrong things so you can yes to the right things.

2. Getting Older Means I Know I Need To Take Care of My Health

When you’re younger, you really don’t think about death or illness (unless you happen to have suffered something serious).  My childhood and adulthood (so far) have been pretty uneventful.  The worst I’ve had is a miscarriage and kidney stone.  So I am not complaining.  I get out of bed every morning and walk and do everything I need to do without really thinking about it.

But now that I’m older, I am more aware of how blessed I am, and I’m more appreciative of it.  I also make a concentrated effort to take better care of myself.  I eat a lot more vegetables and fruits than I ever did before.  I exercise more.  I rarely eat junk food, candy, or drink soda.  I’ve never smoked or done drugs.  I only drink a glass of wine once in a while.  So I’ve been doing some things right all along.  But there’s always room for improvement, and getting older makes me more aware of this.

Because of my diet change and increase in exercise, I actually have more energy and feel much better than I did in my 30’s, and that is emotionally and physically.  I will add I didn’t do any major diet or exercises changes right away.  I would add one or two things a week.  When I exercised, I would add another block when I walked after a week.  I made them gradual so they had a better chance of sticking, and I only pick things I want to eat and exercise I want to do.  Walking is my top choice, especially hiking when I can do it.  There’s nothing like being on a nature trail with autumn leaves.  That’s my favorite time of year to walk.  Spring is second.

3.  Getting Older Means I Appreciate Things More

When I look back on my life, I get a better picture of the good things that have been a part of it.  Even the bad times made way for something good to emerge.  The bad times are never pleasant.  Even now, I cringe when I think more bad times are coming.  Good and bad times will always come.  It’s the way life is.  But by choosing to focus in on the good and how it brought me to where I am, I feel more grateful, which in turn has led me to feel more positive about the present and the future.

I think getting older helps to put things in perspective.  I used to worry about silly small things like whether or not people would think I was a geek for wearing a snow hat when it was cold outside when I was in high school.  Or I’d wear uncomfortable clothes so others wouldn’t think I was a slouch.  Now, I think, “I want to be warm.  I want to be comfortable.  Who cares if someone thinks I’m weird?”

4.  Getting Older Means I Am More Passionate About My Purpose In Life

Whatever your purpose is, I guarantee you, someone isn’t going to like it.   You can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try.  But if you know what your purpose is and you’re passionate about doing it, it gets easier to do it the older you get because you’ve already suffered some dings and bruises of rejection along the way.  Your skin does get thicker as you keep trudging forward.

If someone doesn’t like what I write, that’s okay.  It just means my books aren’t their cup of tea.  I understand this because there are some TV shows and movies my husband loves but I don’t.  It’s not personal.  It’s a preference, that’s all.  So people not liking my books doesn’t upset me like it used to.  I also know some people read my books because of what I write.  Those are the ones I write for.  Getting older gives me a better perspective on the big picture, and this is what enables me to fine tune my skills and get better at what I do.

I’ll end the post here.  I rambled on much longer than I expected.  But I will close with saying I wouldn’t want to go back and relive any part of my life because where I am now is much better than where I’ve been.  :D

If anyone else has any reasons why they found getting older to mean getting better, I’d love to hear them.

His Convenient Wife is Now Available!

This is my personal favorite of all the books I’ve written, so in order to celebrate the release of this book, I am having a Facebook Release Party.

I’m having it tomorrow, January 5 from 6-8pm Central Standard Time.   (For those who read I put 5-7pm Eastern Time, my apologies.  I was in error.  It’s 7-9pm Eastern Time.) :)

I’ll be giving away a signed paperback of His Convenient Wife, and the other authors (listed on the banner above) will be giving a signed paperback copy or two of their books as well.  The authors above are personal friends I’ve had the honor of getting to know over the years.  They’re super nice people in real life.

Anyway, this party is an informal thing where we can get together and talk about whatever’s on your mind.  If time permits, I hope you’ll stop by and say hi. :D

Now for the places where you can find His Convenient Wife:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

iBooks

Smashwords

Flipkart

paperback

Overview Of What I’d Like To Get Done This Year

Quick update on Battle Royale: I haven’t been able to read it because I was out of town this week.  I’m stuck in initial edit mode, too, so I’ll really be snail pacing it.  This is why I don’t read many books in a year.  I get stuck working. :)  I tend to be a workaholic, which is why I need to take more breathers so I don’t burn out.  Reading would be one of those breathers.

Anyway, this is a brief sketch of what I’d like to get done this year.

1.  His Convenient Wife 

Fortunately, this is ready to go tomorrow.  I’m going to quickly add that this is my favorite book.  My favorite used to be Loving Eliza, but after thinking about it, I realized this has taken its place.  It was hard to bump Loving Eliza to Number 2.

I’ll make a post on here when it’s live.

2.  Love Lessons With The Duke (Book 2 in the Marriage by Deceit Series)

This will be out February 14.

Having two books out of the way does help with making this list. :D

3.  Online Proposal (novella under pen name Barbara Joan Russell) that is going to be in the anthology I’m doing with Catherine Lynn.

We don’t have a title or cover for the anthology yet.  But we are hoping to have this out in either February or March.  (I only have 10,000 more words or so to finish this one.)

4.  Ruined By The Earl (Book 3 in the Marriage by Deceit Series)

This one is so much fun.  The hero is so cocky he’s a blast to work with.  I’m still hoping to get this out in March, though it might be toward the end of the month.  *fingers crossed*

5.  The Earl’s Stolen Bride (Book 4 in the Marriage by Deceit Series)

This should be out in either April or May.  Other projects have come to the forefront.

6.  A Groom’s Promise (anthology with Janet Syas Nitsick)

I’m not sure when this will be out.  Things have slowed on my end (due to Ruined by the Earl and Online Proposal).  I’m about 10,000 words into my novella, The Shy Groom.  I am thinking The Shy Groom will be 30,000-40,000 words when all is said and done.  That only puts me about 1/4 (or slightly more) into the story.

We might be looking at a late spring to early summer release on this one.

7.  Co-Authored Project #1

Until the author and I have more details, I can’t say more about it.  I’m just marking it down as something I plan to get to this year.  I have no idea when it’d be published.

8.  Co-Authored Project #2

The same applies as above.

9.  Wagon Trail Bride (Book 1: Pioneer Series)

Stephannie Beman will be redoing this cover, so I won’t bother posting it.  I’d like to get this out either this summer or early fall.

10.  Royal Hearts (Book 2 in the Enchanted Galaxy Series)

The good news is I already wrote it.  The bad news, it needs to be rewritten.  The release date is set for July.  (It’s one of the books I already set up on pre-order.)

10. I’d like to get started on the next Regency series since I got an idea for them the other day.

I’ll discuss this more in detail in another post, but I’m excited about it and plan to use Lady Seyton (heroine in Love Lessons With The Duke) as a central figure in the series.  This means I get to bring back some characters from the other two Regency series, which is always fun.

***

Other Notes

1.  There’s a certain time period in the year where it makes no sense to publish anything, and that seems to be between October and December.  I think people are too wrapped up in the holidays to worry about reading.  So in those months, I’ll be writing and getting books ready for the next year.

2.  I was planning on another Barbara Joan Russell book, but after thinking over the storyline, it might be one of those books that would be better off with sex in it.  Some books seem to be better off with it and some not.  It depends on the characters and the plot, and I can’t know for sure until I work on it.  So I might snag it and publish it under Ruth Ann Nordin.  We’ll see what happens.

3.  I’m not sure if I can get started (or even do) another book in the Pioneer Series.  It depends on how the co-authored projects go.

Updates on What I’m Doing

Christmas break has been a surprisingly productive time for me.  Despite the fact that I have one kid who doesn’t go to sleep until almost midnight and gets up at seven, I’ve gotten quite a bit written.  It might help that I’ve started taking two days off a week to work on puzzles.  I’m making myself take days off on the weekends to avoid burning out.  When I burned out after I finished His Convenient Wife, it threw me off two months, which is why I had to push back the release dates on His Convenient Wife and Love Lessons With The Duke.  I don’t want that to happen again.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to…

Next weekend His Convenient Wife is Due Out: Release Date is January 3

I can’t believe it’s going to be 2015 this upcoming week.  The older I get (I’m only 40), the faster time seems to pass.  I know my mom told me this would happen, but when I was a kid, I didn’t believe it. :)

But yep, this will be out soon.  God willing, it’ll be available on all the sites and goes to the people who pre-ordered them when it’s supposed to.  *fingers crossed*

Done With Love Lessons With The Duke: Release Date is February 14

I uploaded this to Smashwords a few days ago.  I figure it takes at least a month for the book to go from Smashwords to Barnes & Noble and Kobo.  The reason I pushed back the release date on this book to February 14 is because of this.  I could have published it sooner if I didn’t need to wait for the other channels to pick it up.  Since I put it in pre-order last summer, I have to follow through on it.  This is my second to last book in pre-orders.  The last one is Royal Hearts.  I won’t be doing pre-orders on other books.

Coming Soon: a Contemporary Romance Anthology under the pen name Barbara Joan Russell

I wanted to wait until I had more information, and now that I do, I can give more specifics.  This is going to be published with Parchment & Plume.  I don’t have a projected release date on this, but I’m almost halfway through my novella, Online Proposal.

I still need to work through the description, but it’s pretty much a cute sweet romance about a young woman who goes to South Dakota to meet the man whose proposal she accepted in an email.  At the moment, I’m almost at 12,000 words into this novella.  I expect it to be around 25,000 words when it’s done.

I’m excited to be working with Catherine Lynn.  I’ve been wanting to work on something with her for a while now, so this is fun.

A Groom’s Promise Is Slow Going

Janet Syas Nitsick and I are going to get together on January 7 to further plan out what to do with our novellas.  I’m fine with taking some time on this since I have so many other things going on right now.  One thing I love about Parchment & Plume is how willing they are to work with me, especially when things are delayed or if I realize a certain idea I had isn’t going to work out.  For example, I decided not to do a fourth book in the Montana Collection.  Instead, I’d like to focus on Wagon Trail Bride, and I’d like to publish it with them.  So I talked to them about it, and they’re letting me go with Wagon Trail Bride.  I’ve heard other authors who are happy with their publishers.  I think the right publisher can be a great experience.

Other Co-Authored Books I’m Working On

I plan to pick up on one or two projects with another author in January.  The author is debating a pen name, so I can’t go into any specifics.  When we figure out what to do, I’ll give more information.

Ruined by the Earl

I’m having so much fun with this book.  I had a lot of fun with A Most Unsuitable Earl and His Reluctant Lady.  I especially love Lord Edon and Christopher Robinson because it’s hard to take the two characters too seriously.  I gave them some scenes in Love Lessons With The Duke because I missed them. :) Logan is a similar character.  He has a mischievous side to him, but deep down, he’s a good guy.  It just takes time to see the good guy side.

Ironically, my favorite Regencies are the humorous ones.  But my favorite historical westerns are the more serious ones.  I don’t understand why that’s the case, but it is what it is.

Anyway, I’m at 25,000 words in Ruined by the Earl.  This puts me right on track for publishing it in March.

There are other books, but the ones above are the immediate ones.  Since this post is long enough, I’m going to end it here.

Announcing A New Pen Name for my Sweet Romances

I’ve been thinking of branching out into sweet romances for a couple months. But instead of jumping into it like I had in the past, I wanted to be sure this was something I should do. Then there was the question of whether or not I should announce it (something every author who uses a pen name has to ask). The other pen names I’ve had in the past didn’t work out, and I think they didn’t work because they weren’t compatible with my natural inclinations as a writer. In other words, I was trying to be someone I wasn’t as the writer in those books.

In this case, I can stay true to who I am. I’ve decided no story is worth writing unless I can do that. Regardless of the name I use, I need to be me.

Why a Pen Name?

My husband asked me why I’m bothering to make a pen name for sweet romances. In case someone is wondering the same (since I do have two sweet romances already–A Bride for Tom and Romancing Adrienne), I thought I’d explain why. Out of the 46 romances I’ve done so far, only 2 of those (A Bride for Tom and Romancing Adrienne) are sweet. The rest have sex after marriage. This is my brand. It’s what people have come to expect when they read my books. That being the case, I want to stay true to the brand I established. This way, I won’t disappoint people.

However, sometimes I have a story idea where the characters and/or plot doesn’t require sex. I only like to add sex if it moves the story along. I don’t like to throw it in just to have it there. This is why different books have more sex than others. The amount of sexual tension and sex I put in is directly related to what the characters’ need in the story.

And in some stories, there’s no sex needed at all. These are the stories I’ll be putting under the pen name.  But I’m not going to hide the fact that it’s me writing them.  I figure I’ll put something like “Ruth Ann Nordin writing as…” on the book and description like I see some authors do.

The Pen Name

The name I chose is Barbara Joan Russell. I have set up a WordPress website for this pen name at this link.  I’m still working on it, but the basics are set up.  More will be added as I keep working on books under the pen name.

But you don’t have to go to that site to see what I’m doing under this pen name. I’ll be sharing these books on this blog when I do updates and letting you know on this blog when I publish a book under this name.

The site for Barbara will not have blog posts in it. It’s for people who aren’t familiar with me who happen to stumble under the books I write as Barbara. I keep busy enough running this blog, my newsletter, and doing the occasional blog post for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. I can’t manage another one.

What I’ll Be Writing Under the Pen Name Barbara Joan Russell

When I say sweet, I mean no sex at all. They’ll be a kiss or maybe a teasing touch (like a playful tap on the behind or something), but that’s as far as I’m going to take it. The rest of the story will be like others I write. I’ll do historical western and contemporary romances.

Current Projects I Have Created Under Barbara Joan Russell

There are two, but one has my focus at the moment because it’s an anthology with another author.

1. Contemporary Sweet Romance Anthology

There is no title or cover for the anthology yet. But it will be composed of two novellas, each one featuring a sister who is going to head off to her romance.

I do have a title for my novella. It’s “Online Proposal” and is about a couple who met online. (My husband and I met online, but under different circumstances from the characters in the book. In this case, there’s a mutual friend involved.) Anyway, while the heroine in this story accepts the proposal, she goes to the small town he lives to meet him in person so they can both make sure it’s the right thing to do.

The other author is Catherine Lynn. Catherine’s story is about a young woman who accepts a job as a bridal dress designer in New York. I don’t know a whole lot about the novella, but she comes across a bitter homeless man while there. When I know more, I’ll post about it. I’ll also link up to Catherine Lynn’s site when she has it up. Catherine is her pen name because she writes other books under a completely different genre.

We are both hoping to have this anthology out before or by March next year, and we will be going with a publisher (Parchment & Plume) to get it out.

2. Bride of Convenience

I don’t have a cover for this yet. This will be a historical western mail-order bride romance. I plan to make it a novella, but if it turns into a novel, then that’s what it’ll be. I won’t be starting this one any time soon since I have other projects I’m doing, but I would like to get it out before October of next year.

Thoughts on Battle Royale (Halfway Into It)

Update on My Reading of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.

I wish I could say I’m further into the book than I am.  The thing is about 600 pages, and I’m at page 300.  The kids and I came down with a bad cold, and when one of my kids is sick, he will not leave me alone.  He will follow me into the bathroom and hang on the shower door, being as loud as possible while he swings back and forth on it.  Usually, he won’t do this, but when he has a cold, I guess he likes to be with me.  Needless to say, this makes reading nearly impossible so the book has been on hold.  (My husband, by the way, has managed through this whole time without getting sick.  Lucky.)

….Possible spoilers below…

Anyway, I can give my initial impressions of the book.  When I read the first chapter, I realized there was a lot of info dumping.  I didn’t know any of the characters yet, but I was told about this student and that student, etc.  I don’t know why the author did this, nor do I know the author to ask him about it.  There wasn’t enough time to establish a connection with any of these characters yet to care who was doing what or what the main character thought about any of them.  I suspect the author wrote this while either in the middle of the book or at the end of it.  (I don’t know for sure.  I’m just speculating.)

I’m going to wait until I’m done with the book then I’ll go back reread that chapter because at that time, the characters will be familiar to me, and the chapter will mean something to me.   I will admit, I skimmed through some of that chapter to get to the good stuff.  I only kept reading because I knew there would be the moment where all the students realized they were going to have to fight each other until there was only one left alive.  But had it not been for the premise and the fact that the next chapter started off at the “good point”, I would have stopped reading.  Being as slow as I am with reading books, I don’t keep going past (what I consider) two consecutive boring chapters.  With this book, that was the only chapter that didn’t hold my interest.  But, I suspect when I do reread it, this is a chapter that just might have the biggest impact because of everything that happens later in the book.

So far, this book has been an awesome one.  There are three main characters, and I do find myself rooting for them, even though I suspect the one is going to die because I’ve been told ahead of time that one boy and the girl end up together.  This boy is the primary one telling the story.  We are given other characters’ points of view throughout the book, but we always come back to him.  I’m not even going to try naming these characters because I’d probably spell them wrong.  Suffice it to say, the main characters are a boy (Boy 1), a girl, and another boy (Boy 2).  Boy 1 is the character we get to know what he’s thinking and feeling about everything, and he’s the one who ends up with the girl.

So far, I haven’t been given the girl or Boy 2’s points of view.  That is probably done on purpose because Boy 2 is a mystery.  I can’t help but wonder about his motives.  Of course, this is a good technique.  I love it when there’s one character you wonder about.  Is this a good or bad guy?  What is his motive?  I know what he’s saying, but what is he really thinking?  These types of characters are often the most interesting in any story because they aren’t black or white.  They’re a mix of gray, and gray makes you wonder.  Boy 2, as it turns out, has survived one of these programs in the past, and that makes the story even more intriguing.

But while the three main characters are hiding out and trying to survive, the author weaves in what is happening to the other characters on this island.  While I was reading through some reviews on this book, I was prepared for this, so it didn’t throw me off when this happened.  At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of this technique.  The Hunger Games book is only given in one person’s point of view.  This book, on the other hand, gives you many characters’ points of view, even that of the bad guy.

There was some criticism for this technique, but I actually like it.  In a situation like this, you would run into different personalities, so there would be several ways to respond to a situation where you’re told, “Kill your classmates or risk being killed by them.” Would you do it?  Would you try to get your classmates together and form an escape plan?  Would you hide out and wait until you’re the last one standing?  These questions are what these characters are answering.  Based on their personalities, they choose different options, just as you’d see in real life.

This is not a “happy” book.  It’s really quite brutal, revealing the darkest potential in the human heart.  Some characters are taking the offensive and killing their classmates, and some are those they once called friends.  In some ways, it’s heartbreaking because you’re investing time into a few good characters who are going to die, and you watch them die, knowing full well they have to based on the premise of the book.  There are a couple characters you don’t mind seeing die, like those who I’m sure we weren’t supposed to be rooting for anyway.

I think that’s why the main characters’ story keeps weaving in and out of the rest of this.  It gives the reader a centering point to go back to.  These are the characters you end up really rooting for.  I’ve been trying to guess how Boy 1 and the girl will end up together (and alive), but I really have no idea how it’s going to happen.  The bad guy can hear them and see what they’re doing (just like they did in the Hunger Games).  But unlike the Hunger Games, each student is given a collar around their neck that can explode at any time, and the students can’t remove them.  So yeah, there are some major obstacles our main characters have to overcome.

I look forward to seeing how it all plays out and will report what I think when I’m done.