Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 71

Updates on What I’m Doing (Organizing Some Thoughts for My Series)

Montana Collection

Patty’s Gamble is Still Scheduled for a Late June Release

Patty’s Gamble is book 3 in the Montana Collection.

So far, everything is going according to plan.  The book is with the last editor, and I am giving it a final read through (something I do with every book).  I usually end up changing a couple words around, but this time I’ll be changing just a small part of the end.  It’s not anything that changes something to Patty’s Gamble, but it will play a key part in Shane’s Deal.

I can’t really say what it is because it spoils part of this book.  Sorry to be incredibly vague, but I did hint at it in Boaz’s Wager when Boaz went to buy sheet music for his friend Herb and wanted to make sure he had money on hand.  The character involved is going to play a key role in Shane’s Deal so I have to let him “go” in Patty’s Gamble.

Shane’s Deal is in the Initial Outlining Stage

Shane’s Deal is book 4 in the Montana Collection.

I haven’t started this book yet.  This is Madeline Thompson’s story.  I made brief mention of her in Boaz’s Wager and again in Patty’s Gamble.  I’m still working on the details of the plot.  I need to figure out who is looking for her and why.  I thought I had it figured out but decided the hero won’t be one of the outlaws who are looking for her.  But I think he might be the one who helps her.  Right now, all I know is that one of the secondary characters in Boaz’s Wager and Patty’s Gamble is involved in her kidnapping.

I had started an initial outline of this book, and I already have to toss it out and start over.

*I plan to write this book this year.  But I do not have a publishing month. 

Marriage by Arrangement Series

The Earl’s Secret Bargain is Currently in the Initial Editing Stage

The Earl’s Secret Bargain is book 1 in the Marriage by Arrangement Series.

In this book, I gave some minor parts of Lord Roderick (aka Nate), Lord Edon (aka Ethan), and Lord Clement (aka Perry).  They were all there when the wager was made at White’s (which Christopher Robinson mentions to Agatha in His Reluctant Lady), so I wanted to get them involved in this book as well.  They aren’t major players in this book, but it was fun to bring them back since they are in the same world.

*I have already given my editing team a heads up that this book will be coming to them in July.  I’m aiming for the first week in July to have it to them.  I’d like to have this out by late July or early August.

There have been some developments in this series as well.  I was originally going to keep it to three books, but a side character popped up in The Earl’s Secret Bargain, and I like him enough to do a fourth book.  I have already introduced the main characters in the two books in the series in The Earl’s Secret Bargain, but I was starting the outline for Love Lessons With the Duke today and realized I will be introducing the heroine who’ll be in book 4.  The hero is introduced in The Earl’s Secret Bargain.  I’ll get to more information below on where I’m headed.

Love Lessons With the Duke is in the Outlining Stage

Love Lessons With the Duke is Book 2 in the Marriage by Arrangement Series.

I’m currently outlining this book.  I realize outlining won’t mean I’ll stick with it, but I do want an idea of where I want to go in order to start the book.  I already have the basic plot. The heroine is Lady Seyton (aka Helena) and she is a widow who is known for her expertise in helping ladies secure a betrothal by the end of the Season.  Up to now, she’s only given her advice to ladies.  But in this book, the Duke of Ashbourne (aka Camden) will be asking for her help in getting a wealthy lady.

It is in this book that I will also have her helping the heroine in book 4 of this series.  I have not given this heroine a name yet.

*I do not have a publishing month for this book yet, but I plan to write it this year. 

The Earl’s Stolen Bride Will be Book 3 in the Marriage by Arrangement Series.  I have not given this an outline yet.

(I have no cover yet,  but I have already hired Stephannie Beman to do it for me.)

You know how I was going to write Madeline Thompson’s story and call it “Stolen”?  Since I decided to make her story book 4 in the Montana Collection, I needed a title for her book that went with a poker theme like I’ve been doing with the other titles in the series.  So I came up with Shane’s Deal.

So I figured I’d go with the original title idea for this book which was The Earl’s Stolen Bride.  The basic rundown of this plot is that Lord Emmett (aka Orlando who is the best friend of the hero in The Earl’s Secret Bargain) finally sees the opportunity to marry the lady he’s been pining for in that book.  The lady in question happened to end up marrying someone else by the end of The Earl’s Secret Bargain.  But…her husband dies, and she’s available again.  When he finds out she’s been promised to someone else again, he takes measures to make sure he marries her instead.  That’s all I got right now.  The details will have to work themselves out later.

*I do not know when I’ll write or publish this book.  I’m just letting you know I plan to write it.

Book 4 in the Marriage by Arrangement Series has no title, cover, or plot yet.

I just realized today I was going to write it.  All I know is that the hero is Lord Toplyn (who is one of the gentlemen who bets on the wager between Lord Davenport and Lord Pennella in The Earl’s Secret Bargain).  He has enough of a role in book 1 that I wanted to write his story, too.  I just thought I’d be writing his book in a different series.  But…since I will introduce the heroine in this book in Love Lessons With the Duke, it makes the most sense to do four books instead of three in this series.

*I do not know when I’ll write or publish this book.  I’m just letting you know I plan to write it.

The Enchanted Galaxy Series

A Royal Engagement is book 1 in The Enchanted Galaxy Series.

I have not forgotten this one.  I did put it on hold while I was working on Patty’s Gamble and The Earl’s Secret Bargain.  I am currently working on this, but I can’t sprint this book because I’m rewriting the original version of this.  I’m also going slower than I usually would because this is a rewrite.  As funny as it sounds, I’m finding that rewriting a book is harder than writing it the first time, probably because I am boxed into the plot that’s already been established and need to make sure my characters still do the same things, even if their personalities have changed.

The other two books in this series (Royal Hearts and The Royal Pursuit) will also be rewritten, and I expect them to take longer than what I usually do for the same reason.

*I will have this book out in either August or September.  

Other Works In Progress 

These book have been on hold due to Patty’s Gamble and The Earl’s Secret Bargain.  I’m taking it for granted that sprinting will mean I’ll be focusing on one book at a time (with the possibly exception of The Enchanted Galaxy Series).  So far the sprinting method has been working great, and I want to keep doing it as long as it’s working for me.  If I ever get tired of it and need to slow down, I’ll go back to working on multiple books at one time.

I don’t see getting to completing this one with the sprinting method until after August.

*My plan is to have this book out before the end of the year.  

The books below are not going to be sprinted because they’re with Stephannie and I can’t sprint with another person, but I do have publishing months available.

*Stephannie and I are planning to have this one out in January.  We’re currently halfway into it.

* Stephannie and I are planning to have this one out in February.  We’re also currently halfway into this one.

Janet Syas Nitsick and I Will Work on a Second Anthology

(There is no cover yet but Stephannie Beman will work on it.)

The title: A Groom’s Promise

I can sprint my story in the anthology.  Depending on when Janet will start her story will help me determine when I start mine since in this one, we’re going to have two brothers.  One brother will be in Janet’s story and the other will be in mine.

In Janet’s story, there will be a man who has agreed to marry a woman waiting for him in Nebraska, but he meets another one and feels torn between keeping his promise and following his heart.

In my story, my hero is going with his brother to Nebraska because his brother is the only friend he has.  Because of his stutter, others tend to make fun of him, so he tries to avoid people whenever he can.  But then he stumbles upon a situation where he either has to marry a woman or she’ll lose her land and everything changes.

*There is no publishing month for this one yet.

The Earl’s Secret Bargain: First Draft Done!

I just finished the first draft of this book!

I always feel like celebrating when I finish a book.  This is my 42nd romance, and the thrill of finishing another book is as fresh as it was when I finished my very first one (Falling In Love With Her Husband back in 2007).

Here are some things I learned in the course of sprinting this book (for anyone who’s interested):

Epilogues are good in romances.

I added an epilogue to this one, which isn’t something I normally do, but after learning that some of you really love them, I decided to add it.  I found this out on Facebook. (I also added one to Patty’s Gamble.)  So all of my books from this point forward will have one.  I didn’t realize how popular they are, but now that I know, I’m going to do them.  One of my goals in writing these books is to provide the best reading experience as possible, and that does mean I listen to what you like.  So yes, authors do care about what people who read (and like) their books think.  The reason I said “and like” is because our goal is to write books for people who like the kind of books we write.  People’s tastes vary so much that we can’t listen to everyone.  We have to pick what advice we’ll take, and our first loyalty is always to those who enjoy our work.

You can sprint if you are a  panster. (In other words, this isn’t only for plotters.)

I am very pleased with the way this book turned out.  I have to be honest, since I sprinted this book, I wasn’t sure how power writing it was going to work.  I already knew where I was going in Patty’s Gamble, so that was easy.  But with this one, I started it at the 25,000-word mark.  That leaves a lot of plot to develop, and though I made five outlines, none of them worked out as I planned.  I’d started writing a scene, and it’d veer off into a totally different direction that changed the scenes I had planned after it.  I kept going back and adjusting my outline, but those changes were quickly altered as well.

So can a panster plot?  I guess it depends on how the characters feel about it.  These characters ended up telling me what to do up until the epilogue.  I honest had no idea how things were going to work out with this book until I typed the last line.  Patty’s Gamble was not like that.  I was able to plot out with that one.

You can write fast and produce a good story.

Can someone write super fast and produce a book worth reading?  I believe so.  I know a lot of writers will disagree with me, but those are usually writers who don’t write fast anyway.  Some of us are just born with the ability to write faster than others.  Why?  I don’t know.  It’s probably why some people pick up foreign languages quicker than others or why math is easy for some but not others.  (I suck at foreign language and math, so it’s good I at least have a fast pace with words in my favor. :) )

I can’t explain how I can write fast, but for people who are naturally bent to writing fast, the sprinting method will be that much more awesome.  Can it work equally well for writers who don’t write as fast?  I don’t know.  I’d need someone who writes slow to tell me.

Is sprinting for everyone?

Of course not.  That’s just like saying that the color blue is for everyone or that we must all like fried chicken.  We’re all different.  But if you can put aside the internal editor and naturally write fast, I believe the odds are more in your favor.

Pictures from the Conference in Arizona

I’m finally getting around to posting these. It was my first time in Arizona, and having lived in Ohio, Florida (along the panhandle), Alabama, North Dakota, Alaska, Minnesota, and Nebraska, it was so different from anywhere I’ve been that I had to keep looking out the window to make sure there wasn’t as much grass outside the window as I’m used to seeing. People’s yards seemed mostly made up of rocks, and the golf course (while green) wasn’t like I’m used to seeing. But it is still a pretty place to visit. I’ve also never seen a cactus except in the zoo, so it was neat to see those around the area, and there were a couple of pretty bushes (but don’t ask me what kind they are because I am not a plant person and couldn’t tell you).

I’m glad I never wrote a book in Arizona because I would have gotten a ton of things wrong about how it looks and how it feels when you’re outside. This is why I try to stick with places I’ve either visited or lived. So if I ever write a book about a Nebraska couple and the temperature is 80 degrees one day and 60 degrees the next, that is actually possible. We’ve been having those crazy temperatures all spring and even now, it’s a seesaw in temperatures as we get into summer. And yes, this kind of thing does lead to a lot of head cold and sinus issues.  But I do love Nebraska.  Unlike Alaska, it doesn’t get so cold in winter where the snow is there all winter long, and I can still go outside and go for walks.  But unlike Florida, I can step outside in the summer and now immediately get drenched in sweat.  It’s more like Ohio, and Ohio is where I grew up, so it’s more comfortable for me.  I get my four seasons, and I like that.

That all aside, here are the pictures of some of the great people I got to meet in person while there:

From left to right: Janet Syas Nitsick, me, Judy DeVries, and Rose Gordon.  (Judy was designated to hold the sign.  She was also dancing and talking to a lot of people, but you don’t get to see that in the picture.  And if anyone is wondering, Rose’s purse really could be used as a phone.)

 

Janet Syas Nitsick and Rose Gordon

Me and Rose Gordon (Sorry it’s not as clear as it could be)

Me and Judy

Me and Lauralynn Elliott

 I had a great time.  The best part of conferences are getting a chance to meet people in person you’ve met online.  I know there’s the debate over whether being online has hindered building meaningful relationships with other people, but I think it depends on the people you connect with.  Being online has led to me finding my husband, and we’ll be married for 14 years next month.  Being online has introduced me to Stephannie Beman who has become a friend and co-author.  Being online has also led me to meeting Rose Gordon, Judy DeVries and Lauralynn Elliott, and it was so much fun to finally meet them. (Though I will add I had officially met Rose last year, so this was the second time we met in person.)

The point is, you never know possibilities are out there until you give it a chance.  People are still people.  Don’t close yourself off to the many possibilities that are out there, but also use common sense.  Even online, you can get an idea if someone is “weird” in some way.  Enough of the soap box.  I need to get back to sprinting The Earl’s Secret Bargain.  I hope to hit the 60,000-word mark tonight.

Poor Patty Is About to Learn that Some People Won’t Like Her (An Interview with Patty Dixon: Heroine in Patty’s Gamble)

Poor Patty is about to learn that heroines who drag a reluctant hero into marriage is usually one of the most unlikable heroines in romance novels.

Patty Dixon: What’s this about me not being likable?

Ruth: It’s true, Patty.  Since you are forcing Greg Wilson into marriage, there’s going to be some people who will be very upset with you.

Patty Dixon: The One Who Inspired the Montana Collection

Patty: I’m not forcing him into it.

Ruth: You’re placing him into a position where he doesn’t have a choice.

Patty: Nonsense.  He could have said no at any time.

Ruth: And have you end up in the hands of someone like John Meyer?

Patty: Well, that is what he would believe, but I was never in any danger of anything from John, unless you consider those sloppy wet kisses he insisted on giving me to “show” Greg how serious he was about marrying me to get my pa’s land.  At all you had to do was write it.  I had to live through it.  *shivers* My poor tongue will never be the same.

Ruth: But see, that’s the point.  You never actually were going to be forced to marry John.  A lot of people will argue that your lie is going to make you unlikable.

Patty: I’m totally likable.  And despite what people think, Greg thought so to when we were younger.  It’s not my fault they don’t know the backstory right away.

Ruth: Putting the character’s backstory at the very beginning of a novel is a horrible storytelling technique.  People aren’t interested in a character’s past until they get attached to the character.

Patty: But if people knew there was a time when Greg did want to be with me, then what I do at the beginning of the book makes sense.

Ruth: I hate to say it, but even then, some people won’t like you.

Patty: I don’t understand why.  It’s not like I go around killing people or sleeping with other women’s husbands.

Ruth: Because Greg didn’t want to get married.  You see, there’s this double standard you need to be aware of.  The hero is given way more grace and forgiveness than the heroine ever is.  If the situation was reversed and Greg concocted some scheme to trick you into marriage, people would still like him.  But that’s because he’s a man.

Patty: That makes no sense to me.  Since when does someone’s gender affect whether or not their actions are held against them?  Shouldn’t it be equal?

Ruth: Ideally, it would be, but the sad fact is, it’s lops over into the real world.  I mean, men can sleep around and they’re called “studs” while women sleep around and they’re called “sluts”.  If a man is assertive and stands up for himself, he’s self-assured.  If a woman does it, she’s a you-know-what.  If a man has gray hair, he’s distinguished.  If a woman has gray hair, she’s old.  The two people can be doing the exact same thing but if the person is a woman, people won’t be as accepting of it.  But, on the flip side, if a woman slaps a man, it’s forgiven because he must have been a jerk to deserve that slap.  If a man slaps a woman, he’s considered an abuser.  If a woman stays at home to take care of the kids, that’s her right.  If a man stays at home to take care of the kids, he’s a lazy slob who refuses to work.  If a man is portrayed as being stupid on TV or in the movies, that’s considered funny.  If a woman is portrayed as being stupid in the same venues, that’s considered insensitive and rude.

Patty: None of that is fair.

Ruth: I didn’t say it was.  It just is what it is, so when the 1-star reviews roll in because you tricked Greg to marry you, insisted on staying in his house when he wanted you to go back to your father’s ranch, and lassoed him in front of others so he had to stay in the house with you…  Well, I’m afraid they’ll think you’re a you-know-what.

Patty: But I’m not a you-know-what.  Is it my fault that the love of my life didn’t magically land into my lap like they did for Heather in Mitch’s Win or Eva in Boaz’s Wager?  I tried the whole “doing it nice” thing in Mitch’s Win when I was at a supper with Greg.  But it didn’t work.  Nothing I’ve tried before that worked either.  I made things he liked, wore dresses, and smiled in the most charming way whenever he was around.  But did any of that work?  No.  For some reason when we were sixteen, he changed his mind and decided he didn’t want to get married anymore.  But he did want to be with me, and he still does at the beginning of my book.  I’m as sure of that as I am of my own name.  It’s not my fault that you gave me a hero who is so stubborn that none of the traditional methods worked.  If I didn’t trick him into it, I would have had to tie him up, gagged him, and had the preacher marry us that way.

Ruth: Patty, that last statement will only enforce the reason why a lot of people won’t like you.

Patty: But didn’t tie him up and gag him so I could marry him.  That ought to be noted.  I did still give him a choice.  He could have let me “marry” John Meyer.  He didn’t.  And you know why?  Because deep down, he wanted to marry me.  I didn’t do this to punish him.  I did it because it was the best thing for him.  I can’t help it if he let something in his past blind him to the truth.

Ruth: Well, Patty, for what it’s worth, I love you.  You got a lot of spunk.  You stand up for what you want.  You don’t sit by and let life happen to you.  You go out and make your own destiny.  You’re a happy person, overall.  And to be honest, there’s a lot of me in you.

Patty: Then am I to assume a lot of people don’t like you?

Ruth: Actually, this rule pretty much applies to romance novels, not real life, although I’m sure my own husband is up to receiving sympathy cards if anyone’s inclined to send them.

Patty: Well, I got Greg in the end.  By the end of the book, he is happy to be with me.

Ruth: And on some days, my husband is happy to be with me, too.

Patty: On some days?

Ruth: In romance novels, there’s a happily ever after.  In real life, the details of every day living filter in and couples have their moments where they think, “What did I ever see in this person?” But overall, yeah, my husband and I are happy.  And good news, Patty.  Your book will be out right before July 1.

Patty: Am I supposed to say “yay” when I know people won’t like me?

Ruth: Just go out horseback riding and spend time with Greg.  Do things that make you happy.

Patty: I can do that.

Ruth: Good because in the end, the only person you can do anything about is yourself. :D

Updates

Patty’s Gamble is Being Edited

I sent it off to my editing team yesterday.  The process of cleaning it up after I sprinted the last part of it wasn’t as daunting as I thought it’d be.  Fortunately for me, I ramble when I type, and I ended up deleting rather than adding.  I don’t mind cutting words out when I edit, but I hate having to go back and add them.  To the people who love the whole adding scenes thing, you have my admiration.

Sprinting The Earl’s Secret Bargain

While Patty’s Gamble is with others, I am going to try sprinting out the rest of The Earl’s Secret Bargain to see how that goes.  So two things are happening while I’m sprinting, and these are two things I never thought I’d do.  I am working on only one book at a time, and I’m plotting.  I know.  Who would have thought this day would come?  But it’s true.  It worked great for finishing up Patty’s Gamble, and I’m anxious to see how it’ll do in The Earl’s Secret Bargain.

I’m hoping to have the first draft to this book done before I work on the final draft of Patty’s Gamble.  If I can crank out 5,000 words a day like I did with Patty’s Gamble, this shouldn’t be a problem.  But we’ll see what happens.  It helps that I know where I’m going with this book.

 Book 4 in the Montana Collection

I’m happy to announce the fourth book in the Montana series.  The order is Mitch’s Win, Boaz’s Wager, Patty’s Gamble, and Shane’s Deal.

This will be the book that answers why the men at the beginning of Boaz’s Wager were looking for Madeline Thompson.  I have the sketch of a plot for this one and will develop more of it as I think it through.  But it will be a marriage of convenience story.

This book takes the place of Stolen (which I was going to put in the Mail Order Brides Series).  The cover was going to be this:

But I have changed it to Shane’s Deal, and since I did that, the cover had to reflect the other books in the Montana Collection.  I don’t know if I will use that Stolen title or cover on another book yet.  I have too many books already laid out to write, so I can’t think that far ahead right now. :)

***

I’m still working on A Royal Engagement, His Convenient Wife, and the two co-authored books with Stephannie Beman (The Rancher’s Wife and His Brother’s Wife), but right now I’m trying the sprinting method and only focusing on one book at a time method.  So there’s nothing new to report for those.

Expanding the Montana Collection to One More Book

I debated this for over a month before making the decision, but I have decided to tell Madeline Thompson’s story as the 4th book in the Montana Collection.  Madeline (if you recall) was mentioned brief at the beginning of Boaz’s Wager.

            The man swore, threw the purses aside, and went over to them. They stepped back so he stopped and studied them. “Ain’t one of you Madeline Thompson?”

They shook their heads and Eva cleared her throat to answer. “No, sir. I’m Eva Connealy and this is Rachel Larson.”

The other man stopped going through their trunks and swore another word Eva hoped she’d never hear again for as long as she lived. “We got the wrong lady.”

 

Originally, I was going to put Madeline’s story in a standalone novel or in another series.  But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to just add it to the Montana Collection.

I’ve been working on a cover for it to go with the other covers in the series.  I was going to call the book Stolen.  But now, I’m going to change it.  I am passing the cover and title to the publisher before I reveal them on this blog.  For now, you will notice that on the “Works In Progress” page, I have deleted the title “Stolen” and the cover that went with it.  I need to go in and delete it off of Facebook while I’m thinking about it.

That doesn’t mean I won’t use the cover for another book or the title for another book in the future.  But I won’t use it for this particular book.  I’ll let you know more when I figure out what I’m going to do. :D

The First Draft of Patty’s Gamble is Done!

I can’t believe it, but I did it. Tonight I finished the first draft!  It was shorter than I thought it was going to be.  It’s got 18 chapters.  But it’s done, and I have scheduled my editors to look at it so it will be available by the end of this month.

After this, I will take a brief break from writing to recharge.  I wrote a little over 17,000 words in three days.  This will give me time to finally finish editing a book for a friend.  I know this friend will be relieved since I’ve been working on this for a long time.  It’s been so long I don’t even remember when I started.  I don’t make it a habit of editing other people’s work, just in case someone wants to email me their manuscript.  Sorry, guys.  I’m not a professional editor.  I’m just doing this for a very good friend.

While I do that, I’ll also be cleaning up the mess I made in Patty’s Gamble.  I have tons of misspelled words, lousy punctuation, repeated words, and other things that would make a critique group twitch.  But at least the book is done and I have something I can work with.

Now I’m anxious to see how sprinting The Earl’s Secret Bargain will go when I get to it.  I want to get Patty’s Gamble and this edit for the friend done first.  Those are my two priorities.  After that, I will see what I can do with The Earl’s Secret Bargain.

Back from the Conference in Arizona and Ready to Jump Back into Writing

I’ll be posting pictures from the conference when Janet Nitsick and I have a chance to meet up so I can download the pictures from her camera.  I was going to use my husband’s iPhone, but since Janet has a digital camera, we decided to use hers.

In the meantime, I have learned a technique for improving my word count that I’m excited about.  Virginia Nelson taught the class at the conference.  The method she taught is called “sprinting”, and the idea is to write in 15-20 minute sprints (mine tend to go more to 20 minutes).  Then I need to take a 10 minute break while thinking of the next scene in the book.  The catch?  There is no editing allowed at all while sprint writing.  That means no backspaces, no worrying about punctuation or spelling or anything.  During the workshop I took in Arizona, we were allowed two practice sessions.  And though I wrote things out by hand (because I didn’t take my computer), I did see the potential for this really working for me.

And when I woke up this morning, I was excited to try it on Patty’s Gamble because I really want to get the book out by the end of this month.  Yesterday, I sat down for 30 minutes and gave a rough plot for the rest of the book.  I don’t know if I can plot from the beginning of a book because I never know the characters when I start.  I only have a vague idea of what things will happen, but it isn’t until about chapter 3 that I know my characters well enough to tell what will or won’t happen.

Anyway, I did plot out the rest of this book so I know where I’m going and how things will get resolved.  The matter right now is getting it all down on paper.  I worked out a rough estimate on how many words I have left in Patty’s Gamble, and I came out with a 15,000 to 20,000 word estimate.  Then I told myself, “If I can write 5,000 words a day, I could finish this in less than a week.”

That’s when I got really excited.  It also made me aware that doing this sprinting method probably will require me to work on one book at a time.  It’s hard to shift into another story setting when going at it so hard and fast.  So I have put all my other projects on hold. But I don’t think I’ll end up losing traction this way.  In the long run, I expect to even out to my current output or even improve it.  But I do think I need to start being more of a plotter if I’m going to be successful at this.

I plotted out 90% of The Earl’s Secret Bargain.  I’m not as far in The Earl’s Secret Bargain as I am in Patty’s Gamble, so it’s not as easy for me to see where the story is going.  While the plotting to Patty’s Gamble took about two pages, The Earl’s Secret Bargain took five pages (and that was after wiping out my first attempt).  I need more direction (apparently) the further from the end I am.

But it does feel good to have a sense of direction before I start “sprinting” my way through these books.

These sprinting sessions leave me with a very rough draft, and I have to write each scene in a blank new document so I don’t get distracted by everything else I already put in the book.  Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but I tried it the other way and kept stalling out.  So I swapped to a blank document and told myself, “Nothing comes before or after this scene” and I was able to do it.  Then I copied and pasted it into the actual book.

This is what “sprinting” looks like when I do it in case anyone wondered just how bad a rough draft can look when no editing is allowed:

            “You all better hope you still have jobs when I’m free of these this…this…” He glanced dat this the lasso around his chest and grumbled. “What good was it to try to threaten them when he was apprehended by a woman. and by a woman of all peop;le! The randch hands would never let him leive this down.

Needless to say, I am aware that editing is going to be more intense than what I’m used to, but I think it’s going to be worth it.  So yes, the first draft is horrible, but it’s something I can work with.  Today, I got in 6,500 words, and I’m not worn out.   After I fix up all my mistakes, I probably have about 4500 to 5000 words I can actually use from the 6500, but that’s still better than my usual 2500 words on a really good day I used to pull in.

I don’t know if this method could work for everyone.  It is hard to get around the need to edit as you go along, and while writing this blog post, I had trouble adjusting back to “edit as I type mode.”  So switching back and forth is a bit jarring.

Anyway, my estimate at the moment is 15,000 more words for Patty’s Gamble.  If I can manage 5,000 words a day, then I can finish it this week.  Now I need to give my beta readers and editors a heads up.  I’d like to have it edited and ready for them by June 15.  Fortunately, I have half this book already edited from my nightly edits that I tend to do on 1-2 chapters of a current work in progress.  Most of the book is polished up already so it’s legible.

Tomorrow I’ll be sending out emails to my beta reading/editing team.  I took today off from emails because I got back from Arizona late last night and needed a day to regroup.

Updates

At the moment, I am behind in just about everything.  Some rain got on the books I had ordered to sign and send out to giveaway winners, so I reordered them.  Then I discovered a couple of my books weren’t on Barnes and Noble.  Yesterday and today, I did get them published.  They are now available, except for Kent Ashton’s Backstory which I can’t publish directly on B&N at free.  If you want to read that, you’ll have to go to Smashwords.   At the end of this week, I’ll be at a writer’s conference in Phoenix, Arizona, so there will be no writing done then either.  By the way, if anyone happens to be in the Phoenix area, let me know. :)  I’d love to say hi and give you a paperback or two of my book(s).

And just a word of warning, since all this other craziness is going on, I am behind in answering emails.  So if I don’t get to you right away, I’m not ignoring you.  I just haven’t caught up yet.

That all being said, this is what I am currently working on and my progress…

There’s no way this will be ready in June.  July is now the earliest month.  I see no reason why it won’t be out in July, but you never know.  *Fingers crossed* that it’ll be out in July. I am well over the halfway point (at 37800 words), but I have also been writing the book out of order.  I got to the point where Greg realizes he wants to be with Patty, but I am going back and filling in the scenes that come right before that.  After that, I want to go forward in the book and bring John Meyer back into the picture.  Interesting stuff.

This is at the 25,000 word mark.  It’s not where I wanted to be at this point.  I was hoping to be halfway into this book.  But I am getting close to the point where the wager is exposed and things really get interesting.  I’m still hoping for an August release on this one.

The heroine is in love with the hero (and vice versa), but the wager is about to be exposed and let’s just say her opinion of him is about to go way downhill.  The wager, in case anyone reading this doesn’t know, was introduced in His Reluctant Lady.  This is the one where Lords Davenport and Pennella made a bet on who could win the hand of Miss Giles.    Needless to say, Miss Giles will not be amused when she finds it announced in The Tittletattle.  (We can all thank Christopher Robinson for telling Agatha who then reported in the scandal sheets.)

This is now at 60,000 words.  I have been rewriting all of it, and I’ve added more than a few extra scenes.  The main structure of the book is the same.  An ordinary human woman from Earth is called to be Queen (capitalization done on purpose) of another planet.  But I have changed her personality so she’s a lot more likable.  After going through the book, I decided she was way too cranky and wanted to slap her across the head.  So I have changed all of that.  I’m happy to say that I like her now. :)

The original book was 61,500 words.  This book is looking like it’ll be in the 75,000 word range.   So I have at least 15,000 more words to go.  So I’m hopeful for a late July to late August release.

I’m still working on this one and am happy to say it’s going along pretty well.  I’m thinking it’ll be more along the 50,000 word mark, but we’ll see.  At the moment, Harriett and Stan just got married, and Harriett’s thinking she made a big mistake while Stan’s thinking that no matter what he does, he’ll upset her.  Fun stuff.  I am enjoying these two.

I know Stephannie and I are close to the 40,000 word mark on this one, but I can’t remember the exact word count.  So we’re over halfway there.  This book is scheduled to release early next year.

I’m doing the lovable hero thing in this book. :)  He decided early on that he’s going to marry the heroine.  The problem is convincing her of that because she has a hard time believing that there’s a man who is capable of loving a woman for who she is, not in order to use her for something.  (I’m taking the hero’s role in this book, and Stephannie’s taking the heroine’s role.)  In this book, we thought it’d be fun to have the main characters marry by an Indian tribe’s customs.  I can’t remember the name of the tribe off the top of my head, but I do enjoy learning about Native Americans and their cultures.

I think we’re also halfway into this one.  35,000 words or more.  I don’t know for sure.  But this is delightfully suspenseful.  Okay, it’s not suspenseful as in “who killed the heroine’s husband”, but it is suspenseful in the manner the killer is caught.  From time to time I like to do something a little more “thrillerish” and this fits the bill.  It’s definitely a historical romance though set in Alaska, so no need to worry that we’re skimping on the romance.  The hero and heroine are married, but not everyone is happy about this.

This will be released in January.

Kent Ashton’s Backstory, Catching Kent and Bound by Honor Bound by Love Are Missing From Barnes & Noble

While I was in the process of gifting some ebooks to a giveaway winner, I realized that Catching Kent was missing from Barnes & Noble.  A search through the store showed me that Bound by Honor Bound by Love is missing, too.  Another search showed me that Kent Asthon’s Backstory is gone as well.

I am working on getting those two books published directly to Barnes & Noble today.  I don’t know how long it’ll take for them to get up there, but I wanted to let you all know that I am working on it.  So if you happen to go to B&N and not find them there, please be patient with me.

It looks like the other books are up there.

As for Amazon, Kobo, and Apple iBooks, the books look like they are all up there.

Edited to add: I won’t be able to publish it directly to B&N until Monday.  Something unexpected came up that I have to tend to.  No need to worry.  All is good. :)