Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 74

Janet Syas Nitsick and I Will Be Doing a Book Signing on May 10 and then a Facebook Giveaway Party From May 12-19

This is an early announcement, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on what Janet and I are doing so you can plan your schedules. :D

Book Signing: May 10

On May 10, she and I are doing a book signing for Bride by Arrangement at the library in Springfield, Nebraska.  This is south of Omaha.  If anyone happens to live in the area, I’ll be more than happy to give you directions and time we’ll be there.  And we can always bring other books along.  I’m in the process of publishing The Mail Order Bride’s Deception, so I now have 40 books I can potentially bring or gift as ebooks. So if you can make it and always wanted a paperback copy of anything else I’ve ever written, I’d be thrilled to bring it along. And if you make the trip because you saw this blog post, I’ll give you the book for free. Same is true for ebooks. If you prefer ebooks and show up to say hi, I’ll gift you the books.

Facebook Giveaway Party: May 12-19

But if you aren’t in the Omaha area or close to it, we’re going to run a giveaway from May 12-19.  If you aren’t on Facebook, we can work something out.  Just let me know and I’ll make sure you can still enter.

More details will be coming in the future.  For now, I’m getting postcards made up advertising the giveaway at the book signing, and I’ve set up the Facebook group page to get things so I’m not doing everything at the last minute. :)

Mostly though, I want the Facebook Giveaway Party to be an informal and fun time for everyone to ask questions about our books, our personal lives, or anything else that you might have wondered.  Janet and I will see if we can come up with some fun topics.  Any ideas would be awesome.  I want it to be as if we’re all just sitting in my living room and chatting.

I’ll make a post on here the day the party starts. :D

Working Through a Tentative Writing and Publishing Schedule for 2014

My friend (and fellow writer) Stephannie Beman gave me an idea.  She made a post where she listed out what her goals are for the year.  I have heard that planning ahead saves hours of work in the long run, so I thought I’d try to plan out my writing and publishing schedule for the rest of the year.

This is a tentative schedule.  I can never say for certain if something will actually happen because factors like kids, unexpected illnesses, etc.  You just never know what the future will bring. :)

As a side note, this schedule is based off of estimated word counts for the entire book which I then divided up into months then broke down into weeks.  I usually write an average of  1500 to 2000 words a day, but I don’t always write that every single day and on some days, I go over the 2000 mark.  So it evens out in the long run.

I’ll be focusing on this book for the rest of April and hopefully finishing it by May 31, though I might end up finishing it during the first week of June since I am slightly behind schedule on this one.  It’s not too bad, though.

I’d like to publish this at the end of June, but if that doesn’t happen (because I do need to work with my editing team and their schedules), then early July will be the latest it should be to get released.

I’ll be focusing on this book for the rest of April through early July.  This is my next Regency and will start the Marriage by Arrangement Series.  I already have plans for book 2 in the series but need to get other books done before I can start it.

I’m hoping to publish this at the end of July/early August.

For those of you who read Boaz’s Wager, you’ll remember the opening scene where the men were looking for Madeline Thompson when they found Eva Connealy and Rachel Larson in the stagecoach?  I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why are they looking for Madeline?”

Well, now I get the chance to find out. :D  This is not going to be a part of the Montana Collection.  I found that series that last longer than 3-4 books tend to lose a lot of interest, so I aim to keep all my series in the 3-4 book range.  This book might start a new series.  I’m planning on it.  But if it’s meant to be a standalone romance, then that’s what it’ll be.

It will be under my Mail Order Brides Romance Collection, though since it’s a mail-order bride story.

Okay, so I plan on writing this book in May through July.  That gives me an estimate of August through September for a publishing month.

I work on this a little at a time throughout the week.  Though I am not focusing on it, I am able to successfully write in it when I do get to it.  That was not the case with Wagon Trail Bride.  With Wagon Trail Bride, I kept freezing up and not knowing what to write next.  I now think the reason that book kept stalling out was because I should have started the book on the trail, not in New York.  So when I get to Wagon Trail Bride next year, that is what I’ll do.

But for now, I am working on His Convenient Wife.  This will be an on-going project from now to September.  I am hoping to finish this book in September or October.  That gives me October or November as my hopeful publishing month, though I prefer October.

This is another book that is an ongoing (write it when I have extra time) book.  I’m not in any hurry on this one because fantasy romance isn’t a hugely popular genre.  It’s fun to write and all, but I also know this is not going to attract a lot of people.  I have learned to scale back on books that aren’t likely to appeal to the most people.  However, this book will be out before the year is up.  I’m already at chapter seventeen (which is about 3/4 of the way into it).  The question is only when will I finish the first draft.

At the moment, I’m estimating late summer for the first draft to be done.  This fall (anywhere from September to November) will be when I’ll publish it.

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Co-Authored Books in the Works for 2014

Stephannie Beman and I are working on two books and plan to have the first drafts done in late summer.

It’s easier to write a book with her because she’ll tell me what her character says or does, and I’ll tell her what mine does.  We write it together through an instant message program.  We have certain days and hours when we’ll work on them, which makes it easier to write.

Book I’m Co-Authoring With Stephannie Beman

The current plan is to publish His Brother’s Wife in January 2015.

The current plan is to publish The Rancher’s Wife in February 2015.   (There’s no cover for The Rancher’s Wife yet.)

Janet Syas Nitsick and I will work on another anthology this year.  

We’ll do the same set up we did for Bride by Arrangement.  Our main characters will get to be friends and we’ll work them into the plots of both novellas with a finish up epilogue showing a “happy ever after” for both of them.  We will bring back characters from the first anthology.  So you’ll get to see Pete & Ada and Alex and Opal again.  We haven’t picked a title yet, and there is no book cover at this time.

Chances are that it’ll be published either very late this year or sometime early next year.

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A Look into 2015

While it’s too early to do too much with next year, I have already decided there are two books I will be writing in the August through December time frame, which puts them in the January time frame to publish.

This will be the second Regency book in the Marriage by Arrangement Series.  I expect to publish it in January.  *fingers crossed*

Book I’m Co-Authoring With Stephannie Beman

As I mentioned above, I’m planning to publish this book in January, too.

*

Not sure when, but Janet Nitsick and my second anthology should be published around this time frame.

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I think most of the people who read my books are interested in mail-order bride books and Regencies, so I will make those two genres my main focus for 2015, unless the trend changes and I see greater sales in other areas I write in.  I judge what to write based on sales because sales are the best way for me to tell what most people want to read.

So the books below are not on the priority list, though I want to write them.

After I publish His Convenient Wife, I will give Wagon Trail Bride another shot.  This tim I will start the book in another place and see if that does the trick for breaking through the huge writer’s block I’ve experienced with this one.  If I am able to push through the writer’s block, my hope is to work on this on a “when I have time” basis.

So let’s plan on fall 2015 if I can figure out a way to get the story going.

I will work on this book.  It’s the second fantasy romance, so (like A Royal Engagement) it will on a “as I find time to write it” basis, which puts this at a projection for later in 2015, much like Wagon Trail Bride.  Unlike Wagon Trail Bride, I know what to do with this book so it will definitely get done.  It’s easier to work with a book where the plot is already laid out.

I’m guessing this will be a summer release.

Greg Wilson Rebels And Patty Dixon Comes In With a Reply

Greg: There is no way Patty’s Gamble can be construed as a romance. Ruth Ann Nordin is warped in the head. What she’s done is created a horror novel and (lucky me), I’m in it.  If I make it out of this alive, I’ll count my blessings.  But as it is, I think my days are numbered.  You see, I’m the very unfortunate male lead in this horror novel called Patty’s Gamble:

The Ebook Cover Greg Wilson Made

Ruth: Whoa, whoa, whoa!  That isn’t the cover.  The cover is this:

The Real Cover

Greg: Granted, Patty does have a glint of evil in her eye in that cover, but it doesn’t adequately portray how scared I am.

Patty: Scared?  Oh please!  You’re not scared.

Greg: Yes, I am.  I’m in fear for my very life.

Ruth: Well, you do seem to be running away from her in the cover I made.

Greg: Your cover isn’t good enough.  It doesn’t convey the sheer terror I have to deal with.  I can’t go to sleep at night unless I lock my bedroom door.

Patty: Because you refuse to have sex with me.

Greg: I have to go without food.

Patty: Because you refuse to eat anything I make.

Greg: And she’s turning all my ranch hands against me.

Patty: Because they realize you marrying me is the best thing that’s ever happened to you.

Greg: You don’t get it, Patty.  I do not want to be married to you.  I don’t want to be married at all.  Period.

Patty: Marriage is good for you, Greg.  Didn’t you know that men who are married live longer than men who don’t?

Greg: Not when you’re walking around the house with a knife.

Patty: How else do you want me to cut into the pie I cook for you?

Greg: You can make it sound as innocent as you want, but the fact remains, I have to be subjected to the horrors you inflict in my once-peaceful home.

Patty: This is a complete misrepresentation of the book.  If anything, this is what the cover should be:

Ebook Cover Patty Dixon Made

Greg: No way.  That’s not how it is at all.

Patty: You’re right.  Because in the book, I came to you without any clothes on.  I figured for the sake of this post, I should PG 13 it.

Greg: You should have made it G or PG.

Patty: What’s the fun in that?  G or PG isn’t going to get your attention.  And quite frankly, it’d be boring.

Greg: I could have done a PG 13 cover too, but I was mindful of sensitive eyes and didn’t want to drag in all the blood.

Patty: Oh, good grief!  There’s no blood in this book.

Greg: And there’s not going to be any sex either.

Patty: Yes, there will.  Out of the 40 romances Ruth has written, 38 have sex in them.  That means, there’s a 95% chance of you coming to bed with me.

Ruth: Actually, it’s a 100%, Patty.  I don’t do “sweet” romances these days.  Don’t worry.  Greg will be yours before the end of the book.  In fact, he’ll be yours halfway into it.

Greg: I want to be in a different book. One that’s not yours, Ruth.  No offense, but you’re a terrible writer, putting your characters through all sorts of pain.

Ruth: *yawn* I’ve heard all this before from other characters, and yet they are always happy at the end of the book.

Greg: Well, you haven’t written me yet.

Ruth: The others gave me the same lame threat.  I’m no longer discouraged by such words.  If this was my 20th romance, I might be freaking out, but this is romance #41.  I’ve seen it all and done it all with you characters.  There’s nothing that surprises me anymore.

Greg: We’ll see.

Ruth: Yes, you will.  Now stop wasting my time.  I have your book to write.

*Greg leaves, swearing that he’ll be different from other notable characters who argued with Ruth in the past, like Dave and Joel Larson and Lord Roderick.  But we all know that this is a romance and romances ALWAYS have a happy ending.*

Little Facts About Me (as a Writer)

Today, I tried to come up with an interesting sample from one of my works in progress but was afraid that I’d give away too much from The Mail Order Bride’s Deception, and I’m not close enough to finishing Patty’s Gamble  or to publishing A Royal Engagement to give anything yet.

So I went through posts I had written up but hadn’t published and found this one.  Not sure if this will interest anyone, but at least I’ll have one less post sitting in my “draft” file. :)

1.  It’s hard for me to separate the non-author part of me from the author part of me.

I’m pretty much a writer 100% of the day, even on days when I’m not writing.  This is why it’s hard for me to think in terms of what I do outside of writing.  At my core, I live and breathe what I write, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Writing is my biggest passion.  (And to think when I was a kid, I hated to write.  LOL  That just goes to show your childhood does not have to dictate how your adult life plays out.)

2.  My goal is to write and publish 100 romances.

These are novellas and novels, not short stories.  With The Mail Order Bride’s Deception, I’ll be 40 books into my goal.  I hope to publish 7 books this year.  Usually, I seem to be in the 6 books a year average.  By the end of this month, I’ll have 3 out this year.  I don’t know if I can make the 7 book goal or not.  But I see no reason not to try.  You know what they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. :D

3.  I do spend time with my family.

But…I’m usually thinking about my books in the back of my mind.  (I can’t get away from it completely.)

4.  Sometimes I forget the names of my characters and book titles.

For example, while I was writing Patty’s Gamble, I had to pull up Mitch’s Win because I couldn’t remember the name of the character who gave Patty a hard time in that book.  Turns out it was Evelyn.  But… I had nicknamed her “Eve” in Mitch’s Win.  Thankfully, I had referred her to Evelyn first so I can get away with calling her Evelyn in Patty’s Gamble.  (Otherwise, I’d run into problems since the heroine in Boaz’s Wager was Eva.  See how close those names are and how confusing that could get?)  It’s the details that are tricky.  ;)

I also refer to the timelines I have on this blog often, especially when it comes to the Nebraska romances or Regencies.  As I continue weaving characters with one series into other series, I expect these timelines to become even more important.

5.  I still love historical westerns the most.

I enjoy the Regencies I do because of the characters who are in them and how easy it is to create a scandal.  Lots of neat story ideas come from those.  I also like contemporaries because it’s nice to spend time in “today” once in a while, and I can use all the modern lingo I want.

But there’s something special about the historical western time period.  That’s why I write more historical westerns than any other books.  However, I need a break from the genre once in a while, which is why I write Regencies and contemporaries.  The breaks keep the story ideas and characters fresh.

6.  When I stop working on a book and work on something else, it doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned the book.

I’ve learned that if I stall in a story, it’s because I’m not going in a direction I should go and I need to put it aside.  Most of the time, I know something is “off” but can’t figure out what.  I ended up putting The Earl’s Secret Bargain on hold for the past few months because I need to get from the time Lord Davenport and Lord Pennella made for the hand of Miss Giles to the time when she finds out about the wager.  I needed to establish the chemistry (if you will) between Lord Davenport and Miss Giles.  Now that I finally know how I can do that, I was able to pick up on where I left off.

I was able to write ahead in The Mail Order Bride’s Deception, but that was only because I knew exactly where that book was going.  The last chapters I wrote for that book were 12 and 13.  Most of the time, I have to write the book in order because I’m not sure how things will end.  I write by the seat of my pants, and most of the time, I don’t know what will happen with a scene until I’m writing it and the characters lead me.

I’ve tried plotting, but it doesn’t work until I only have 2-4 chapters left in the book.

 

Blog Hop Post

Before I get into the blog hop part of the post, I wanted to let everyone know Boaz’s Wager is now on Kobo and Apple’s iBooks.

Kobo

Boaz's Wager - Ruth Ann Nordin">iBooks

A very kind person alerted me that The Earl’s Scandalous Wife is missing from Kobo.

I did make an inquiry about this at Smashwords (since I use them to distribute my books to Kobo).  Long story short, Smashwords is aware of this problem and is working to resolve it.  When I see it on Kobo, I’ll post the link.  In the meantime, I’ll be checking every day.

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Now for the blog hop post.  Janet Syas Nitsick tagged me, and in turn I’ll tag a couple other authors at the bottom.

1.  What are you working on?

I’m not in the editing stage of The Mail Order Bride’s Deception!  This is the most exciting time because I’m close to releasing the book.  It looks like I can have this out during the last week of April. :D

I did shove A Royal Engagement aside (just a bit) to focus in on Patty’s Gamble.  I really want to have this book out in June, and in order to do that, I need to spend most of my time working on it.  I already did some planning in my schedule (as haphazard as it is) and am sure I can have it out before the end of June.

I’m not exactly sure when this one will be out, but I’m 3/4 of the way done with the rewrite.  It turned out to be more work than I initially thought, but it is much better than the original.  I’d rather go slower and give you guys the best book I’m capable of writing than rush through something.  I will have this out sometime this summer.  I’m not exactly sure when, though.

Two Co-Authored Books With Stephannie Beman

1. The Rancher’s Wife doesn’t have a cover yet, but will soon.

2.  His Brother’s Wife

Book I’m Co-Authoring With Stephannie Beman

Stephannie Beman and I are currently working on two historical westerns.  In our contract we estimated August as being the due dates for the first drafts.  But given the extensive editing process that is involved with a co-authored project, I expect these books to be released in mid-December to late January.

Co-Authoring another Anthology with Janet Syas Nitsick

Again, I have no cover yet, and we’re currently brainstorming titles.  What I do know is that my novella will feature Maybell Smith (who was Ada and Pete’s neighbor).  Her father will be unable to take care of his farm by himself, so she’ll post an ad for a mail-order husband.  I hesitate to say this one will be out by the end of this year.  I’ve learned that co-authored books take longer to get ready than books done alone.  So I’m going to estimate next year at this point, especially since we haven’t even started it.

But in case it seems like I won’t have any other books out this year, I do have a line of more I’m currently working on.

I have finally gotten back to working on this.  Granted, it’s currently at a couple hundred words at a time, but I have finally picked this up again.  I also had Stephannie Beman do a new cover for me because it’s a different series, and I wanted it to be separated from the Marriage by Scandal Series I just completed with The Earl’s Scandalous Wife.  As for when I’ll have this one out, I’m not sure yet.  I’d like to get it out this year, but the month is uncertain.

I am determined to have either Wagon Trail Bride or His Convenient Wife out by the end of this year, and it looks like I am making enough progress on His Convenient Wife where this will be possible.  I think **fingers crossed** I can have this out in October.

I also want to get book 2 in the Enchanted Galaxy Series out before the year is up, but if I can’t, then that’s fine.   It should be out early next year by the latest since it’s a rewrite and I already know what happens in it.

2.  How does my work differ from others in its genre?

The only thing that sets my books apart is my commitment to having a hero and heroine who only have sex after marriage.  That doesn’t mean they are always virgins.  Sometimes they lost their first spouse, were prostitutes, or caved into temptation and had sex with someone else in the past (if this is the case, they do regret it).  This is why I self-published my books early on.  I was pretty darn stubborn when it came to keeping my books the way I wanted them. :)  Fortunately, I found Parchment & Plume, a publisher who will let me keep my books my way.  I still self-publish some books, but I also am publishing with Parchment & Plume for others.

3.  Why do I write what I do?

I initially started writing because I wanted to read a particular book when I was in the 8th grade.  I had a certain plot in mind and certain type of characters I wanted in this plot.  I searched through libraries and bookstores but couldn’t find the book I was looking for.  After a couple of restless months, I thought, “If I can’t find the book I want to read, I need to write it.”

And the rest is history.

4.  How does my writing process work?

I am probably one of the most unorganized writers on the planet.  I don’t plan anything.  Planning, to me, is boring.  I just want to start writing and having fun.  I have one basic plot idea in my head like “I want to write a mail-order bride story.” I don’t know what will happen in this story.  I just know the first scene and start writing it.  For reasons I can’t explain, the characters usually tell me what to do.  If they don’t, I end up putting the story on hold until they do.

And I write whenever time permits.  I usually end up writing 15-20 minute chunks between doing the household chores, running errands, and taking care of my family.  I’m often behind on my emails and Facebook messages because of this.

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Now for a couple authors I’d like to tag.  If these authors don’t want to do it, that is fine.  No pressure. :D

Stephannie Beman: I think we make a pretty great team when we co-write a book.  She doesn’t usually write historical western romances, but she’s co-writing them with me because she knows how much I love the genre.  Isn’t that nice of her? :D  Usually, she writes romances based on myths and speculative fiction.

Lauralynn Elliott: She’s one of the sweetest authors I’ve ever met.  She’s always encouraging and thoughtful.  She has written some paranormal romances and ventured into a bit of horror, which also includes romance.  I’m partial to the horror ones since I love reading horror.

Rose Gordon:  I notice a lot of people who like my books also like her books, which is really awesome.  I fell in love with her work before I realized I was already “talking” with her in a forum.  LOL  She has done a couple of historical western romances, but she’s mostly known for her Regencies.

Melanie Nilles: A friend from college (all the way back to 1994–now you know how old I am! LOL).  She’s one of the most business savvy people I’ve ever met.  She writes science fiction and fantasy, and she usually adds some romance to mix.

Co-Writing with Stephannie Beman (How We Do It)

First of all, there is no wrong or right way to co-author a book with someone.  The key is to figure out the method that works best for you and other person.

Second, I’ve discovered that not all co-writing endeavors are created equal.  While I can write this way with Stephannie Beman, I can’t do the same process with Janet Syas Nitsick.  For Janet and I, the best approach was to do the anthology.

In case anyone is wondering, Janet and I are currently looking into doing a second anthology. :)

Why did Stephannie and I decide to co-write some books?

Stephannie and I don’t live in the same state.  In fact, we have never met in person.  We met back in 2008 on Live Journal.  From there, we moved on to WordPress.  We did work on a book in 2009 (I think) that became My Lord Hades.

Back then, I had done the first draft and she went in to flesh it out.  When I realized I didn’t want to keep writing mythologies, I gave her the book with full rights to do whatever she wanted to.  Back in 2008-2009, I was in the “What kind of writer am I?” stage so I did some experimenting.  In the end, I realized my heart is in romances with ordinary, every day people.  Writing about myths just wasn’t what I wanted to do.

So…

Fast forward to 2013.  Stephannie and I have been chatting on AIM since 2009 (or 2008, I don’t remember).

We decided to write another book together because it was fun doing My Lord Hades.  After brainstorming for a couple days, we settled on writing a historical western romance.  (She let me pick the genre and since it’s my favorite one, it’s what I chose.)

Before we start writing...

1.  Contract

We get a contract written and signed.  After a good year of trying to figure out the best way to co-write a book and consider royalties, we came to the conclusion that we’re better off working on two books at a time.   We are both self-publishing these books, which means these books are potentially forever.  That being the case, we had to consider what would happen to the books, the rights, the royalties, taxes, etc to the books after we die.  The cleanest and easiest solution was to do a barter.

We have decided to write two books at the same time.  One book goes to Stephannie and the other book goes to me.  That makes it a clean, easy trade where the rights and royalties are clearly defined.  The contract spells out all the details.  The idea is to make life as easy as possible for our families who will have to deal with our businesses when we’re dead.

2.  Get a brief description of the books

We brainstorm at the same time we do the contract because we need to state which books we’re working on.  At this stage in the game, we only need the book title (with the option to change it later) and a brief summary of the book.

3.  Setting the stage for the books

Stephannie likes to get a solid understanding of the characters and setting, so she usually does the bulk of the research while I sit back and “look pretty”.  I’m sure my lack of pre-planning drives her crazy because she does more planning than I ever do.  She doesn’t outline her books, but she does like to get a good grasp of the cast of characters and the location where the books take place.

I am very much a “write by the seat of your pants” kind of writer.  I can’t understand a character or know the setting until I’m writing the book.  As long as I know how the first scene starts, I’m good to go.  The rest just develops as I go along.  Characters figure out how they look, what their personalities are, and what happens to them as I write.  It’s rare that I know any of this before I start writing.

And yes, sometimes what Stephannie and I have figured out before we start writing has changed while writing the book because as I write, I realize my character has a different personality than what we originally agreed on.  The nice thing is, Stephannie’s flexible and works with me when this happens.

4.  Writing the book

This is always the fun part.

We each take a main character.  If Stephannie takes the hero’s point of view, I’ll take the heroine’s point of view.  And vice versa.  In The Rancher’s Wife, I am taking the hero’s point of view, so everything he says and thinks comes from me.  Stephannie’s taking the heroine’s point of view, so everything she says and thinks comes from her point of view.

We agree on a time to be on AIM and write the book.

So let’s say today we are at the point in the book where we need the hero’s point of view.  I will pull up my Word document and start writing the scene.  We do agree on what will happen in the scene before we get to it.  For example, let’s say this is a scene where the hero sees the heroine for the first time in women’s clothing.  (In the beginning of the book, he thinks the heroine is a sixteen-year-old boy because she’s dressed up in men’s clothes, is taller than the average woman, has her hair hidden under a hat and is wearing a duster that covers her from head to her mid-calf.)  But today she is going to be clean from her recent bath and will have on women’s clothes.

So here’s an example of how we would work through AIM:

I’ll write this on my Word document: “Thayne turned his attention to the porch when he heard the front door open.” Then I’ll copy what I wrote into AIM.

Stephannie will write this on AIM: “Abby steps onto the porch.”

I will probably ask on AIM: “How does Abby look?  What is she wearing?”

Stephannie might say on AIM: “She’s wearing a shirtwaist but pants because the skirt she’s holding is too short and her ankles will show if she wears it.   She has a good breast size, probably a size C if she wore a bra.  She has a dark shade of red hair that reaches down the middle of her back.”

I might ask on AIM: “Is her hair straight or curly?”

She might say on AIM: “Wavy.”

I will take what she told me and put this into the Word document: ”His eyebrows rose in interest as his gaze settled on Abby.  Without all the dirt and grime on her face, it was easier to get a good look at her.  Her dark red hair fell in soft waves down her back.  She wore a green shirtwaist, and he’d be lying if he said her ample bosom didn’t arouse his attention.  Forcing his gaze off the shirtwaist, he noted that she wore pants instead of the skirt she was holding in her arms.” Then I will copy and paste it on AIM so she can see it.

Then I write in the Word document: “He headed over to the porch.  ’Is something wrong with the skirt?’” And I copy and paste this in AIM so she can see it.

Stephannie will then write in AIM: “‘It’s too short.’  Abby seems like she’s worried she’s inconveniencing him.

So I will put into the Word document: “‘It’s too short,’ Abby said in a cautious tone, indicating that she worried she was asking too much.

So you get the idea.  We go back and forth like that.  When it’s Stephannie’s turn, she’ll write the stuff in the Word document.  When we finish a scene or chapter, we email the other person the work we did.  This way we both have a copy of the book.

5.  After the book is done

Stephannie takes the first draft and fleshes it out.  This is the process where she smooths everything out so the story flows well because when you have two people working on the same story, it can lead to some choppy work.   She also adds in any details that will enhance the story.  She’ll then have a beta reader or two go over it and take their input so she can fix up anything else in the book.

Then I take it and send it off to my editing team since I have an awesome group of people who are good and dependable, two key things that can be hard to find.  It’s also easier to use the same people for the books since they will remember what happened in another book in the series and can help with consistency issues.

Stephannie does the covers, and I do the interior formatting.

6.  Then we each take our own book and publish it.

Then we will figure out what books we want to work on next because we already know we’ll want to work together again. :)

***

Co-authoring doesn’t work for every author, and there needs to be a good blending of the personalities of the writers who do co-author a book.

You need someone you trust because you don’t want them to bail on you or break the contract.
You need someone you can be honest with because there will be times when the two of you don’t agree on what to do with a scene or a character.  Compromise is big in this area.  You do have to be flexible.  It’s not just your book.
You also need someone who is similar enough to you so the storytelling blends well together.  (This is not the case with doing an anthology since you would have your own story and the other author would have theirs.)

Sunday Story Sample: The Mail Order Bride’s Deception

This week I thought I’d do a sample from The Mail Order Bride’s Deception.  I expect to finish the first draft this week. :)

Rapid City, Dakota Territory

September 1878

Sadie Miller’s heart raced with trepidation as she looked at the letter in her hands from the man who waited for his mail-order bride.  She couldn’t read it.  But she remembered what a kind old lady had read to her at the train station.  It was from a man named Allen Grover who lived in Rapid City who had a six-month-old son named Gilbert.

Allen sounded like a nice man, the kind of man she could enjoy spending the rest of her life with.  Hazel had said he was the kind of man who’d be good to her.  Then she gave Sadie her drawstring purse with the money, letter and ticket. Even now as Sadie held the woman’s things, she couldn’t help the mixture of feelings that the items provoked. What happened to Hazel had been horrible, but it had been the very thing that freed her.  This was her chance.  A new start.  A new life. A chance to put the past behind her.

She peered through the small window of the stagecoach, wondering what Allen Grover looked like.  Her gaze passed over a couple of men before she found one who was holding a baby in one arm. He was in front of the mercantile and he was a handsome man.  Tan from hours spent outdoors, taller than the average man, light brown hair under his hat, and muscular from hard work.  He wore a pair of denims and a faded blue and white plaid shirt that had seen better days.  Yes, that had to be him. No other man had a child with him.

She took a deep breath.  When she stepped out of this stagecoach, she would be Hazel McPherson. Not Sadie Miller. She closed her eyes for a moment and reminded herself that she could do this.  She had to do this.  Because if she didn’t…

Well, it was better if she didn’t think about it.

The horses slowed so she braced herself until the stagecoach came to a stop. She adjusted her hat and patted her auburn hair which she had pulled back into a bun.  Except for an errant curl that fell from the pins, everything was in place.  Keeping the letter out, she closed the drawstring purse and got ready to get out. The moment she set foot on the dirt road, she would be Hazel.

The driver opened the door and held his hand out to help her down. She accepted it. Her legs shook as she took her first tentative step forward.  This was it.  There was no going back. Daring a glance at the young man, her steps slowed when she realized he was already heading in her direction.

Her heartbeat picked up.  Would he believe she was Hazel?  Did Hazel tell him what she looked like in one of her letters?  Did she look enough like Hazel for him to think it was her? Hazel had brown hair with golden highlights, not the reddish tint she did.  And she’d been thinner and taller than Sadie.  But why would Hazel mention something like that?  She might mention her hair color, maybe even her eye color, but she probably wouldn’t go further than that.

“Are you Miss Hazel McPherson?” the young man asked.

Her gaze went to the sleeping child in his arms before going back to him. Nodding, she offered a hopeful smile. “Yes.” She held out the letter to him. “Are you Allen Grover?”

“I am, but you can call me Al.” With a glance at the letter, he chuckled. “And I wrote that letter. I’d recognize my sloppy handwriting anywhere.”

She laughed at his joke.  “I had no trouble figuring out what the letter said.”

“You’re one of the few.” He motioned to the stagecoach where the driver and gunman were tying the horses to a post.  “Don’t you have any luggage?”

“Oh.” Luggage?  “Um, well…” She turned back to him.  “I wanted a fresh start. I thought I’d make my own clothes, especially since the weather is supposed to be colder here.”

Thank goodness she’d taken the time to listen to the couple who spent their whole time chatting about the Black Hills before they got off three hours before she arrived.  But that was neither here nor there.  At the moment, she had more pressing things to deal with.

“I brought some money for the clothes,” she assured Al. Judging by what he was wearing, he didn’t have much to his name, and the last thing she wanted him to do was change his mind and not marry her—or rather Hazel.

“I was afraid I scared you when I warned you about how cold it can get out here in the winter,” he said as he took her by the arm and led her up the platform in front of the mercantile.  “I know it’s nothing like Atlanta.”

She had no idea what Atlanta was like, so she’d just have to take his word for it.  “I appreciated the warning,” she ventured, hoping it was the right thing to say.  “I like to be prepared.” Especially after everything she’d been through.  “I don’t like surprises.”

“You won’t get any from here.  There’s not much to do.  I hope you don’t get bored.”

“Boredom is the least of my concerns.” In fact, she welcomed it. The quiet blessedness of boredom would be wonderful!  Peaceful even.

“You might be saying otherwise after being here a month.”

He shot her a smile that threatened to melt her right on the spot. She had a weakness for dimples and he had such cute ones.  And his green eyes with brown flecks around the pupils twinkled, hinting at the joy in his life. Such joy had eluded her for quite some time.  It’d certainly be nice to be surrounded by it again.

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about his first wife but she decided against it.  Hazel probably knew the details, and if she asked the wrong questions, he’d know she wasn’t the woman he expected her to be.

Choosing for a safer question, she asked, “May I hold Gilbert?”

“Of course.”

They stopped and he placed Gilbert in her arms.  Afraid she might hurt him, she was careful as she brought him closer to her.  He opened his eyes and glanced back at his father before turning his large brown eyes to her. She offered the boy a tentative smile, wondering if babies picked up on an adult’s uncertainty. All he did was stare up at her as if he’d never seen a woman before.

She knew nothing about caring for babies or children and had no idea if Hazel did or not.  But even so, she guessed that each child was different, just as every person was different. She was going to be his mother now. The sooner she got used to him, the better.

She brushed back one of his blond curls.  “He’s got lovely hair.”

“Yes, he does.”

“Oh?” Did Gilbert take after his first mother?

Unfortunately, he decided not to divulge anything.  He resumed his walk and started telling her where stores were in the town. Despite her curiosity, she didn’t press him for more information.  For all she knew, he’d told Hazel everything already so why would he repeat himself? Besides, he was taking her as his second wife, and that being the case, he’d want to focus on her. Pushing aside the stab of guilt in her gut, she forced her attention to what he was saying.  Hazel was dead.  There was no bringing her back.  And that being the case, all she was doing was filling in for her.  Yes, it was a lie.  Yes, she was deceiving him.  But what harm could possibly come from it?  It wasn’t like anyone from Nebraska was going to come up here to visit Hazel.

“I spent the better part of the day getting the cabin ready for you,” Al said.

“A cabin?”

“I told you it’s only got two bedrooms.  I know you’re used to a large home with servants at your beck and call. This won’t be anything like that.” His steps slowed.  “Are you sure you want to go through with this?  Once we marry, it’s forever.”

Hazel came from a large home with servants?  Sadie had no idea this was the case based on the simple clothing Hazel wore.  But Hazel did have a lot of money in her drawstring purse.  Just what had Hazel’s life been like and why would she leave such luxury to come out here?

“Hazel?” Al asked, drawing her attention back to him.

“I’m sorry.  I got distracted.” No sense in telling him why.  “What is it?”

“I was asking you if you’re sure you want to marry me. Life out here isn’t an easy one. There are bitter winters. You’ll have to cook, clean, and sew. Now, I meant what I said. I want you here, and Aunt Betty is more than happy to teach you what you need to know.  But it’s hard work, especially when you have a child to tend to. You’ve led such a sheltered life. I’m just not sure you’re up to it.”

She thought over his words with interest.  “You accepted my reply to your mail-order bride advertisement.” Or rather, Hazel’s reply.  “Forgive me if you mentioned it and I forgot, but did you not get any other replies?”

“I didn’t mention it,” he quietly replied.  “Because no other replies came.  I had sent out the ad when Gilbert was born.”

So that’s why he jumped at the chance at marrying Hazel. She was the only one who answered and he had a child who needed a mother.  Well, she was nothing like Hazel.  Her life hadn’t been one of luxury.  She’d had to learn to fight and struggle to survive.  She’d known hunger, pain, and loneliness.  These were things Hazel had rescued her from.

“Hazel?”

Tears she’d learned to suppress threatened to expose her weakness. She quickly blinked them away. She focused on the man standing in front of her and the child in her arms.  This was a new beginning.  A new start. She could do this.

“Hard work and cold winters don’t scare me,” she told him.

There were worse things out there.  Monsters that took the form of men.  She rubbed Gilbert’s back and looked at Al.  He wasn’t a monster.  He was a good man—an honest man.  And he was desperate for a wife who’d be a mother to his son.

“I want to marry you, Al.  I wouldn’t have come all this way if I didn’t.  It might take me some time to get used to being here, but I will. I promise you that.”

He relaxed and smiled.  “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you wanted to leave after you saw this place, but I’m glad you’re staying.”

She returned his smile, assured that he really would have let her leave if that was what she wanted.  No man had given her a choice before.  It was nice to control her destiny for a change.  “I am, too.”

Updates (Again)

This post is a bit redundant so I’ll try not to ramble too much. :)

I plan to finish the first draft toward the end of the week.  I’ve already contacted my editing team and gave everyone a heads up on what to expect the book.  Right now, I’m looking at a very late to early May release.

This book is not going to be part of a series.  It’s a standalone historical western romance.  I don’t often do standalones, but sometimes the plot just works out that way.

I have, however, put this book under the Mail Order Brides Collection because it is a mail-order bride book.  I want to do more mail-order bride stories in the future, and I already have an idea to do one about the woman the men were looking for in the very beginning of Boaz’s Wager.  I plan to do a story to show what they wanted.  But that one is going to be put on hold for a while.

I’m over the halfway point in this one.  I am rewriting more of it than I thought I would when I started.  But…the story is much better than it used to be so I’m very happy with it.  It’s funny but I never fully grasped the meaning of “telling vs. showing” until I was going through this book again.  I had no idea how much telling I used to do.  And wow, what a difference it makes when you show instead of tell a story.  I still plan to tell some things just so the book doesn’t drag.  Too much showing is just as bad as too much telling.  There’s a fine balance between the two, and for the first time since I’ve been writing, I finally “get it”.  That just goes to prove that we never stop improving, no matter how much we learn.  :D

This book should still be out in late May.

Poor Patty is having a horrible time with Greg.  He’s not cooperating at all…but I suspect he will before too long.  He has to because I have big plans for John Meyer in this book.  John Meyer is turning into a pretty interesting bad guy.  I’m intrigued with him.  I’m not sure if he can be redeemed or not.

It’s too early to give a definite release month on this one.  Progress is slow at the moment because I’m focusing on two books above.

The Rancher’s Wife (co-written by me and Stephannie Beman)
Cover Coming Soon

Stephannie and I work on the co-written books during the week day when we get on an instant chat program.  I’ll do another post where I go more in detail on how we write books together.  But each book we do is a product of both of us writing it together.  It’s not a situation where I write one and she writes another.

Regarding The Rancher’s Wife, we are near the end of chapter 3.  I’m very happy with the progress and storyline of this one.  Everything is flowing smoothly.

His Brother’s Wife (also co-written with Stephannie Beman)

Book I’m Co-Authoring With Stephannie Beman

This book, however, is a little more difficult.  We have to get from the point where the hero and heroine don’t want to marry to the point where they do.  We’re currently brainstorming ideas.  We are at the beginning of chapter 3 in this book.  Up to now, it’s progressed well.  The heroine is one of the suspects in her husband’s murder, and the hero has come up to investigate.  (Her deceased husband is the hero’s brother.)

Update on Wagon Trail Bride and His Convenient Wife

I really want to get either Wagon Trail Bride or His Convenient Wife out by the end of the year.  That is one of my goals.  If I can get one of these done, I’ll be thrilled.

I have tried working on Wagon Trail Bride, but for the past two months, I haven’t been able to get more than a sentence or two in the book whenever I sit down to write it.  Something is off and I don’t know what it is.  I might have to toss out everything I’ve done and start over.  As much as I hate to do that, sometimes it’s necessary.  I’m going to put this on hold and think about it.  I want this book to be the best it can be, and if that means waiting, then I have to do it.

What this means is that I’m going to try writing in the other one and seeing how it goes.

As an experiment, I sat down and wrote 1000 words in it with no effort today, so maybe that’s a good sign.  I’m not making any promises, but I will start using my free time to work on this book.  *fingers crossed this one works*

Updates on What I’m Doing

I’m happy to say that I have two books over halfway done.  One (A Royal Engagement) is a rewrite so it’s not all that much work since the story is already complete, so getting it done so fast is not as impressive as it sounds. 8-)

I honestly don’t know if A Royal Engagement or The Mail Order Bride’s Deception will be done first, but I do expect both to wrap up around the same time.  They’re both currently hovering around the 40,000 word mark.

 I expect A Royal Engagement to be longer since I’m adding more to it and it was originally at 63,000 words.   So far I’ve added four more scenes to it and expect to add at least two more before all is said and done.  I’m guessing this will put the book at 65,000 to 70,000 words when all is said and done.

I expect to finish up the first draft in mid-to-late April.  At that time, I’ll be handing it off to my wonderful editing and beta reading team.  So we’re looking at a release some time in May.  I was hoping to have it out in April, but it’s just not going to happen.  I refuse to rush a book just to get it out there.  I want each book to be the best it can be, and sometimes that means waiting.

The Mail Order Bride’s Deception is pretty much laid out on where I want to go.  Fortunately, this is one of those books that pretty much writes itself, much like The Earl’s Scandalous Wife did.  I will be handing this book off to my expert beta reader who can figure out scenes to add to enhance a story.  After I get her feedback, I’ll probably add 2-4 more scenes to complete the story.  I know I’m missing something and she’s the perfect one to tell me what that “something” is.

Since I expect this book to be around 60,000 words before I hand it off to my beta reader, I think I’ll be done with the first draft around the second week of April.  After I get the feedback from the beta reader, it’ll be another week to add the new scenes in.  So that puts me around the end of April to have something for my editing team to go through.

So May is looking like the release month for this one as well.

I had to go back and rewrite parts of chapters 1 and 2 in this one because….and this is funny….I forgot that I had written in Boaz’s Wager that Patty’s father was there when she married Greg.  In Patty’s Gamble, I had written it so her father didn’t know she was marrying him.  That is a huge discrepancy.  But it’s all fixed now and I can finally move forward.

This means, of course, that I’m behind schedule and won’t get it out in June.  At this point, I’m going to say July.

***********

Stephannie Beman and I have signed a contract for two more books to co-write, and we have already gotten started on them.

The Rancher’s Wife – Book 2 in the Wild Hearts Series (co-written with Stephannie Beman)

(I will have a cover up soon on this blog)

Book 1 is The Stagecoach Bride, and toward the end of that book, the characters had rescued Lloyd (a three-year-old boy) from the villain in the series.  The Rancher’s Wife opens with Abby Nichols (Mic’s sister) and Lloyd are exhausted and hungry after running for days.  With Abby’s horse running off, she and the boy hide out in the barn to rest.  This barn belongs to Thayne Jackson (the hero) who finds the two and originally assumes Abby is the older brother since she’s dressed up like a man.

We’re only at chapter 2 so I have no idea how the whole thing will play out.  I only know that Thayne’s father is twisting on his arm for him to find a wife and Thayne’s housekeeper is not going to be happy when she realizes Abby is really a woman.  Should make for some interesting conflict.

I’m taking Thayne’s point of view, and Stephannie is taking Abby’s point of view.

Book I’m Co-Authoring With Stephannie Beman

This is the second book we are working on.  This is not part of the Wild Hearts Series.  This is probably going to be a standalone book, meaning it will probably not belong in a series at all.

Remember that idea I had for a romantic suspense but it was contemporary?  I had titled it Marriage Can Kill.  Well, I was going through it and realized I really do not want to write romantic suspense.  I thought it’d be fun, but the truth is, it’s just not my cup of tea.  So after talking to Stephannie, she suggested I make it a historical western (a genre I already love) and just give it a thriller type element as a sub-plot.  Since I have done these types of books in the past, that is more my speed.

We decided to work on this book together as well.

Arabella Stanford is suspected of the murder of her husband who died due to arsenic  poisoning, and her father-in-law has asked his other son (Thaddeus Stanford) to come to Alaska to investigate the matter.  We’re at chapter 2 in this one too.

I’m taking Arabella’s point of view and Stephannie’s taking Thad’s point of view.

~~~

We’re hoping to finish the first drafts to both of these books in August.  I probably will not publish His Brother’s Wife until late December or early January.  I don’t know when Stephannie will publish The Rancher’s Wife.  More information will come up as the year progresses.

Inspiration for the Series: It All Started With Patty Dixon and Her Crazy Quest to Get Greg Wilson to Fall In Love With Her

Patty Dixon: The One Who Inspired the Montana Collection

Back in 2009, I wrote a novelette called “The Keeping of Greg Wilson” which I had intended to submit to Harlequin’s shorts line (called Undone, I think). These were 15,000 word stories and were historicals.

Quick background into submitting to Harlequin

I had almost submitted a couple other books (Eye of the Beholder and His Redeeming Bride) to the historical full-length novel line. I heard doing something short was a good way to get an “in” with Harlequin, which was why I wrote Patty Dixon’s original story.  After I received “please rewrite and resubmit” letters from Harlequin telling me they wanted more conflict between the main characters in Eye of the Beholder and His Redeeming Bride, I decided to self-publish the books.  The books would not have been better off if I had put a lot of conflict between Dave and Mary Larson or between Neil Craftsman and Sarah Donner.  The stories didn’t work that way, and it wasn’t what the characters wanted.

Quick background into why I took “The Keeping of Greg Wilson” down

That being the case, I self-published “The Keeping of Greg Wilson” in May 2010.  All I got was 1-star reviews on it because “the story was too short”. On Smashwords, people were more forgiving of the length but elsewhere, the short length was not popular. So I took it down and figured later on, I would make it a full-length novel at a later time.

Bringing Patty Dixon Back

Sometimes I have to sit for a couple years on an idea before I figure out the best way to write the story. And in this case, it took until 2012 before I figured out what I was going to do with Patty Dixon.

But before I could rewrite her story into a full-length book which is now titled Patty’s Gamble, I needed to back up and write a book that would lead up to it. Patty and Greg have a past. She has a good reason to believe Greg really does want to be with her. Though I couldn’t go completely into that past while in Mitch’s or Heather’s point of view, I could hint at in the books leading up to Patty’s Gamble.

I wrote Mitch’s Win because I wanted to introduce Patty and establish her desire to be with Greg.  This was why I had that awkward dinner scene where Heather was playing matchmaker with Patty and Greg.

You see, I had mentioned Mitch Grady in “The Keeping of Greg Wilson” when Greg asked Patty why she didn’t marry Mitch instead because Mitch had some kids he needed a mother for.  Well, in this case, I decided to make Mitch the uncle of the children in question because I wanted a virgin hero instead of the widower.  I had wanted to give Mitch a wife and figured his book would be the best way to start the series.

It was my intention to write Patty’s book after I was done with Mitch’s Win, but then Boaz showed up in Mitch’s Win and was compelling enough where I wanted to learn about him.  To truly understand him, I had to go into his point of view.  I wasn’t sure if Boaz was worth redeeming or not when I started Mitch’s Win, so I went into a couple of scenes with him and realized this was a character who needed a second chance.

What I loved most about him was how imperfect he was.  So I wrote Boaz’s Wager to give him that chance.  I hadn’t done the hero who was reluctant to consummate his second marriage in fear he’d lose another wife to childbirth before (but I had enjoyed reading such books in the past and wanted to do one of my own).

Boaz’s Wager takes place at the exact same time that Patty’s Gamble does, but it was the best book to be #2 because I could elaborate more on Patty and Greg’s relationship and better set the stage for Patty’s Gamble.  That’s why I devoted some time to focusing on Patty during Boaz’s Wager.

I am now writing Patty’s Gamble.  It’s not the same book as the novelette “The Keeping of Greg Wilson”.  Some things are the same but overall, it’s a whole new book.  I am taking a couple of fun things from there.

I am going to insert two scenes from Boaz’s Wager where Patty talks to Boaz where she says men have everything to gain by being married and again where Patty tells Heather and Eva her “Greg doesn’t love me” woes to help establish that Boaz’s Wager and Patty’s Gamble take place along the same place in the timeline.  Usually, I don’t do something like that, but I think it’ll help to get a feel for the time these events take place.

To sum it up

It took me two books to lead up to the one I’ve been wanting to write for the past couple years.  Sometimes books are like that.  In the same way, I did want to write Perry Ambrose’s book right after I finished The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife, but I knew I needed more time to build up to it, which is why I wrote the other two in the series first (A Most Unsuitable Earl and His Reluctant Lady).  Some books (and characters) get better with time, and sometimes the build up to their books is worth putting their books on hold.