Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 75

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. :)

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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.

Sunday Story Sample: Boaz’s Wager: Introducing Patty

Before I get into the story sample, I wanted to update a couple links from books that were recently published. From time to time, I get asked when a book is up on Kobo and Apple iBooks, so I’ll take a moment to post those links now.

I’m also posting links to Diesel and Flipkart.  These books are also set to distribute to Page Foundry, Scribd, Oyster, and Baker & Taylor Blio, but I’m not sure where to go to find them at these places.  I have not signed up as a Scribd or Oyster member, and I’m not familiar with Page Foundry or Baker & Taylor Blio.  My publisher and I opt my books into as many places as possible to make things as easy as we can for anyone who wants to read my books.  This is why I don’t go exclusively at one place, and my publisher supports my decision.

I will say that I’m very sorry to see Sony go.  I knew a couple of Sony readers and wonder what they’re doing now.

Kobo

Flipkart

Diesel

Kobo – not there yet

Flipkart

Diesel

Kobo – not there yet

Flipkart

Diesel – not there yet

At this time, Boaz’s Wager is not on Kobo, Apple iBooks, Flipkart, or Diesel yet.  I’ll keep an eye on it and put the links in a post when it does.

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Patty’s Gamble is the rewrite of the novelette “The Keeping of Greg Wilson” which I had unpublished years ago.  In my next post, I’m going to go into the background of this and how I came up with the Montana Collection.

Now out from Parchment & Plume!

Patty’s Gamble takes place during the same time Boaz’s Wager does.  But I wanted to give some hints in what will be in Patty’s Gamble while I was writing Boaz’s Wager so I wrote the part below in  Boaz’s Wager.  (The women are on a porch.)

            “Patty, I want you to meet Eva,” Heather introduced as Eva approached them. “Eva just married Boaz.” Looking at Eva, she added, “Patty just got married, too. She married Greg Wilson.”

Patty tied the horse’s reins to the post and rolled her eyes. “I’d hardly call what Greg and I have a marriage.”

“Why? What’s wrong? Is Greg not happy?”

“That’s an understatement,” she grumbled and headed for the porch, her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve cooked and cleaned for him. I even brought him a newspaper and tried to rub his back. But does he appreciate any of it?” She turned to face the two women who followed her up the porch. “No! With the way he’s acting, you’d swear I just ruined his life.” She paused for a moment and smiled at Eva. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s nice to meet you.”

Eva returned her greeting. If one thing could be said for Patty, she was lively. She didn’t seem like the type who accepted everything that came her way. Instead, she went out and got what she wanted. Intrigued, Eva listened as Patty continued moaning about her ill-fated marriage.

“I just don’t understand Greg.” Patty plopped in the rocking chair across from them and crossed her arms. “I thought men were pretty simple to figure out. As long as their bellies are full and they’re not tripping over things in their house, they should be satisfied. At least my pa’s an easy man to please. He’s happy for the littlest things anyone does for him. And look at Mitch.” She gestured to Heather. “He was smiling and talking about you nonstop when he married you. I swear, he’d never been that happy before. But will Greg see what a blessing I am? Of course not. And why? Because he’s stupid.”

“Oh, you don’t think he’s stupid,” Heather replied. “A little misguided perhaps but not stupid.”

Lowering her voice so Hannah wouldn’t overhear, she said, “I went to his bed wearing nothing, and he didn’t do anything.”

“You what?” Eva asked, shocked that a woman would do something so…so…bold.

“I gave him what every man dreams of,” Patty replied, shooting her a meaningful look. “And what did he do? He left the room. Now, go on and tell me that’s not stupid.”

Heather bit her lower lip. “Well, it doesn’t take much to encourage a man.”

“Exactly. And honestly, I don’t know how I could have been more encouraging than that.” Patty grunted and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything but nothing’s worked. The fool keeps going on and on about how he’ll figure a way out of the marriage.”

Eva glanced at the barn where Boaz helped Mitch with the evening chores and thought her situation wasn’t all that different. Not really. They were both married to men who didn’t want a real marriage. While Boaz wanted to be married, he only wanted a wife of convenience so in no way could she consider that a real marriage.

What Mitch and Heather had was a real marriage. What Herb and Rachel had was a real marriage, too. And anyone could tell how happy they were by simply looking at them. It’d be nice to have that kind of happiness in her own marriage, just as Patty wanted in hers. She couldn’t blame the woman for being frustrated, especially since she went out of her way to go into her husband’s bed without a single thing on.

Heather reached out and clasped Patty’s hand. “You haven’t tried the most important thing of all. You haven’t been yourself.”

She rolled her eyes. “If being myself would work, he would have married me a long time ago.”

“I don’t recall you being anything but the person you think he wants you to be.”

“A man doesn’t want a woman who can lasso cattle better than he can. Don’t get me wrong. Greg manages very well on the ranch, but there are some things he could do much better. Like breaking his horse? I could have handled that one, but he paid Boaz to do it. And why? Because he’s a man and I’m a woman. Greg expects me to be feminine at all times.”

“Patty,” Eva began, “just because a man wants to be married, it doesn’t mean he wants a wife.”

Eyebrows furrowed, Patty looked at her. “What?”

“Boaz only wanted to marry me so he could have a mother for his children. He sleeps in the parlor and I sleep in the bedroom.”

Heather’s eyes widened. “Was that his idea?”

“Well,” Eva began, “at first it was mine because I didn’t want to be with him right away. Then when I was ready, I found out he planned for us to sleep in separate rooms all along.”

“When I married Mitch, I thought he wouldn’t want to be with me right away because we rushed through everything.”

“So he slept on the couch?” Patty asked.

“No,” she slowly replied. “He slept in the same room with me.”

“And?”

“And…it went as you’d expect it to.”

“But it didn’t happen that way for me,” Patty pointed out, “and it’s not happening that way for Eva. You know what I think? I think some men don’t know a good thing when they have it.”

“Or they’re too afraid to accept it when they do,” Eva added without bothering to think over whether or not she should disclose so much about her marriage. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one with a husband who was reluctant to sleep with her. “I understand why, though.” It wasn’t fair to him that she didn’t explain things further. “Since his first wife died in childbirth, he’s afraid I’ll suffer the same fate.”

Heather pressed her hand to her heart. “You weren’t here before he straightened his life out. He’s been through so much, and he took her death hard.”

“I figured that. It’s why I’m not so upset about it. Sure, I’d like to have something like you and Mitch do, but I realize the situation is different.” After a pause, she added, “I think it’d help Patty to know she’s not the only one going through this. I know I feel better knowing I’m not the only wife who doesn’t have a normal marriage.”

“I feel better too, Eva,” Patty agreed. “It’s nice to know not every woman has it easy. I’m sorry, Heather, but it’s not fair to watch Mitch fall all over himself to impress you. You have him wrapped around your finger. I honestly don’t think there’s anything he wouldn’t do for you.”

Heather glanced between them and shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing you can say,” Patty replied. “We’re glad you don’t have to go through what we do. It’s horrible. Eva,” she looked at her, “the notion that you’re going to die in childbirth might be possible, but I don’t think it’s likely. Most women survive it just fine.”

“I know that,” Eva said, “but I don’t think Boaz can be logical when it comes to this.”

“I know it doesn’t seem like it,” Heather began, “but Boaz is trying to protect you.”

“I realize that. It’s the only reason why I don’t try to knock some sense into him.”

Patty giggled. “I wouldn’t mind doing that to Greg, and I would if I didn’t want to kiss him so much. So tell me, Heather. What secrets do you have for us? What can we do to nudge our men in the right direction?”

Heather fiddled with her hair. “I don’t know.”

“What do you do if you want Mitch to join you in bed?”

Heather’s face went beet red, but Eva was glad Patty asked the question.

Clearing her throat, Heather softly said, “It doesn’t take much to get him interested. A touch in certain places, a lingering kiss, telling him I’ll be in bed waiting for him… He’s not hard to encourage like Greg is.”

Patty rocked back and forth, tapping the edge of the chair’s arm with her fingers. “I wonder if I can get close enough to Greg to try the touching and kissing thing. I think if I told him I’d be in bed, he’d run out of the house.”

Though it wasn’t funny, Eva felt a chuckle rise up in her throat. “I’m sorry, Patty. I didn’t mean to laugh.”

“Oh, I know it sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous! No man in his right mind would refuse to take a woman up on the offer to be intimate. That’s why there’s something wrong with Greg up here.” She tapped her head. “I just wish there was some medicine I could give him to cure him of his stupidity.”

“Alas, no such thing exists.”

Heather shifted in her chair and leaned toward them. “Patty, if you really want Greg to act like a husband, then do something about it. Don’t sit idly by while he’s running out of the room.”

“And what do you suggest I do?” Patty asked. “Lasso and tie him to the bed?”

“Why not?”

“Oh, be serious. Patty can’t do that,” Eva argued, glancing at Hannah to make sure she was still out of hearing range from them.

“Sure, she can,” Heather began. “If anyone can lasso any moving thing, it’s Patty. She can make Greg stay in the house with her. She doesn’t have to tie him to a bed, but she can make it so that he has to spend time with her and get to know her. And who knows? Maybe if he’s on the run and she catches him, he might be impressed and see her in a new light.”

“But that’s not ladylike,” Patty replied. “You know that horrid woman at church wouldn’t like me doing something like that. She’s always telling me I act too much like a man for my own good. She’s the one who gave me the idea to let him rescue me and it worked. He married me to save me from John Meyer.”

Noting Heather’s grimace, Eva asked, “Who’s John Meyer?”

“Just the worst piece of scum in Lewistown,” Heather muttered. “Patty, you’re asking for trouble by arranging something with John.”

“Everything’s fine,” Patty assured her. “I paid him the amount due to him. He’s gone his way.”

“I don’t know.” Heather crossed her arms. “He’s a sly fox. You can’t trust him.”

Patty waved off her argument. “The mayor was there to help arrange the whole thing.”

“You better hope Greg doesn’t find out he was tricked into marrying you.”

“He won’t unless you two say something.”

“We’re not going to say anything. Besides, how can we if we don’t know the details of the arrangement you made?” Then after a pause, she added, “You and Greg will be a good match once he realizes you’re perfect for him, though you need to be honest about who you are in order for him to see it.”

Patty shook her head, indicating that she didn’t believe Heather and rose to her feet. “I better go. I want to be sure one of his ranch hands secures all the stalls.”

“You think one of his ranch hands isn’t doing his job?”

Shrugging, she said, “It’s a hunch. Nothing more. I won’t say anything unless I find out for sure. Thank you for lending me a caring ear.” Turning to Eva, she added, “And it was nice to meet you.”

Eva returned the sentiment and watched as Patty got on her horse. Though she dressed very ladylike, she mounted the steed like a man, something Eva suspected was so natural for her, she didn’t even think about the fact that she was wearing a dress. With a groan, Patty readjusted her legs so she was sitting on the saddle like a woman and smoothed the dress to properly cover her legs.

Boaz’s Wager is Now Available!

I sent out an email from Mail Chimp to those of you on my new release list.  If you didn’t get it or would like to be on it, please fill out the form and I’ll add you to the list.

[contact-form]

That aside, my publisher Parchment & Plume, LLC has gotten Boaz’s Wager up on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.  They’re waiting for the ISBN.  Then they’ll publish it on Kobo and Apple iBooks.  The book will go up on other Smashwords channels, but that is a matter of waiting for Smashwords to approve it for premium distribution.  I won’t bore everyone with all the details.

Instead, here’s where it is on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords:

Now out from Parchment & Plume!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Patty’s Gamble, which is the next book in this series will be out around June or July.  I’m currently working on it.

About Wagon Trail Bride and His Convenient Wife (Includes a Very Long Post on How I Decide What To Write and When)

I’ve been getting questions about these two books enough so I thought I’d make a blog post about it.  I think I’ll add this post to one of the FAQ sections on this blog because in time, this post will get buried and be harder to find.

The main question, of course, is “Will I write them?”

The answer is yes.

But…and these books are not on the priority list.

My goal at the moment is to have Wagon Trail Bride out by the end of this year.  Barring any family emergencies (last year my husband almost died of a burst appendix and I lost a month of writing) or something else that will require me to put my writing on hold for a while, I should be able to get Wagon Trail Bride out by Christmas.

I don’t see getting His Convenient Wife out this year.  Maybe next year at the soonest.

Why is it going to take so long?

I know it’s taboo to discuss writing and how it relates to business, but this is my job.  It’s how I support a husband and four kids.  I’m very grateful for this job.  I love it.  Nothing else would give me as much joy as writing books.  In order to keep this job, I need to make enough money to support my family and pay taxes.  (The taxes, by the way, are almost half of what I earn.  So over 40% of my income goes directly into the federal and state taxes because I’m self-employed.)

This forces me to think of writing as a business.  As ideal as it would be for me to say that I write solely for pleasure, the truth is, I do have to think of money.  If I don’t think a book will sell very well, I push it down on the priority list.

I honestly don’t believe Wagon Trail Bride or His Convenient Wife will sell enough to put them high up on the priority list.

When I sit down to look at which books to put up high on my priority list, I need to look at a couple things:

how long it will take me to write the book
how other books in the series (or similar books) are selling already
what I think will interest a wide audience when looking at a new series or book idea

1.  The speed at which I can write.

I have been pushing myself hard ever since the year began to see how much I can write in a year.  Up to now, my average has been 6-7 books a year.  This seems to be about 5-6 full-length novels and a novella.  I don’t know if I can write faster than that, but I’m trying.

If I can write more books in a year, then I can afford to take a risk on a book I don’t believe has a good chance of selling.

So if I can get out an extra book this year, it’s easier to make that book Wagon Trail Bride because I don’t need that book to help me making a living.  It is an “extra”.  I can afford to take a risk on an “extra”.

2.  How books in the series or similar books are already selling.

I look at how my past books did to determine what to write in the future, and I determine in what order to write them.  I need to do this in order to get a picture of what people want and how to better gear my writing in that direction.  It’s a business decision.

I’ve noticed a couple of things that I wished I had paid closer attention to a couple years ago.

1) Romances where the heroine pursues the hero tend to bomb.  Not many people like them.
2) Heroines that are soft and tender sell better than those who are more likely to give the hero a hard time.  This is why I don’t do the “difficult” heroine anymore.
3) If a series isn’t popular, nothing will save it.  It might be possible to boost the series, but longterm, it’s something to write off and move on to a more promising series.
4) Romances are 1900 don’t sell well.  So I’m very reluctant to write after the 1800s.

Reason #3 is why Wagon Trail Bride isn’t higher up on the priority list.  Richard Larson is the oldest Larson brother.  My Larson books don’t do that well.  I mean, the $0.99 books do well, but I can’t make a living off of $0.99.  I’m keeping those books at $0.99 since that is what they were back when I published them.  I try not to mess with books that are already published.

But overall, the Larson family really doesn’t yield a lot of interest.  Not at $2.99, and I need that $2.99.

Reason #4 is why I don’t believe His Convenient Wife will sell very much.  It takes place after 1900.  Catching Kent (which took place after 1900) bombed.  There’s just not enough interest in it, and I suspect there are two reasons for it.  It had the heroine pursuing the hero (mistake #1) and takes place after 1900 (mistake #2).

3.  I focus my time and energy on books I believe will attract the widest audience possible.

I don’t write for everyone.  My books will always follow the guidelines I’m comfortable with: sex within marriage being the biggest one.  Anything I submit to a publisher or co-write will have my core values intact in the book.

However, there is some nice leeway I can work with (and do).  A couple times a year, I look over how my books have done.  I look at common elements/themes that appealed the most to people.  Then I look to see if there are any common elements/themes that turned the most people off.  I’m now at 39 romances (a couple of which are novellas) and from this large pool of books, I aim to better gauge why my top sellers are top sellers and do what I can to make sure my next book is a success.

This doesn’t mean I don’t branch out and experiment with something different.  I am doing fantasy romances this year, which is really a huge risk.  The only reason I’m doing them is because they are already written.  All I have to do is rewrite them which is an easy process.  But it’s an experiment.  If it doesn’t do well, don’t expect to see any other fantasy romances.

I’m also experimenting with mail-order bride books this year.  I believe these have a good chance of success based off the sales from Bride by Arrangement and Eye of the Beholder (two books where I had that as a theme).

Co-authoring with Stephannie Beman and Janet Syas Nitsick have been successful so I’ll continue working on those types of books.

I already know Regencies do well.  They do better than historical westerns, but my passion is so embedded in historical westerns, that I can’t “not” do them.  I can, however, do without writing another contemporary.  Contemporaries are a toss up.

Native American Romances, however, are not popular and I won’t be writing any new ones.  I finished the series I have and that is enough.  Yes, I loved writing the books, but love of writing a book is sometimes not enough.  It’s sad to say but that’s just how it is.

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I’m sorry to those I’ve upset.  I would love to do it all and have it all out there tomorrow.  But I can’t.  I only have so many hours in a day and a family to take care of.  I average 2.5 to 3 months for writing one novel.  And I average 1 month for the editing team and me to go over the book with scrutiny.  My editing team has been so wonderful about working for me at a fast pace.  I rely on them because they ensure I produce quality books.

So that is about 3.5 to 4 months on average for every book I write.

I seem to revert back to working on 3 books at a time if I’m focused.  If I add book 4, that book usually falls in the 100-200 words a day because that’s all I seem to be able to manage.  I know some authors can write 5,000 words a day.  I can’t.  I usually do 1,000 in one, 1,000 in another, and 500 in the last one.  Now, I have days where I do more than that and days where I do less.  But this is my average over the past two years.   And I usually write something  every day.  I rarely take days off.

When I’m not writing, I’m still working.  I do emails (and yes, I’m backed up a lot), get my tax stuff together (which isn’t as easy as it sounds), write blog posts, go on Facebook, work on covers, work on book descriptions, help other authors, format my books, brainstorm ideas, tweak on my blog/website, etc.  A lot more goes into my job than writing books, and I average working 55 to 60 hours a week.   I enjoy all of it, though, and want to keep doing it.  That is why I try to get books out there that I believe will enable me to keep doing what I do.

Updates on What I’m Doing

Due out March 15 from Parchment & Plume

The big news is that Boaz’s Wager is almost ready!

I’m thinking it’ll be ready around March 15, give or take a couple of days.

I got everything back from my editing team and am working through it.  Though I am handing this in to my publisher, I still want to make sure it’s as polished up as possible to make the publisher’s job easier.

I don’t know if I mentioned it on this blog or not, but the heroine in this story is Eva Connealy who originally appeared in Isaac’s Decision.  She had wanted to marry Isaac, but Isaac wasn’t interested in her.  In this book, I finally gave her a happy ending.  I hate seeing my characters rejected and want to see them get a second chance.

I also include Rachel Larson in this book who turns out to be Eva’s friend.  Rachel also appeared in Isaac’s Decision as one of Eva’s students, so it was fun seeing the two transition from a formal teacher-student relationship to a friendship.  Rachel Larson is Isaac’s younger sister and the daughter of Dave and Mary Larson (from the Nebraska series).

This book will probably be out around May 1.

This is probably going to be the next book out only because it’s already written out and all I’m doing is rewriting the scenes.  I am adding a few more scenes to better establish the romance.  To this end, I am including a nice scene where the hero and heroine get to better know each other early on in the book, the wedding ceremony and the wedding night.  I’m also adding two additional scenes to show the heroine becoming the Queen  and her meeting with the Palers and Laxes in her role as Queen.  I didn’t do those two things in the original book but looking back, wish I had.

I know I’m going to get a lot of flack for this once the book is published, but I am capitalizing the word “Queen” on purpose in the book and when I write about it in blog posts.  The Queen on this fantasy planet called Raz is the most important person, so it’s always capitalized, even without the name of the woman behind it (ex. Queen Ann).  I realize this is not grammatically appropriate, but then this is a fantasy world and I figure on the fantasy world, rules can bend a bit.  The word “king” however is only capitalized when using a name to go with it because the king’s only roles on the planet are to protect and serve the Queen and give her a daughter.  He has no power.

This might be ready near the end of May.

I’m halfway through this book as we speak, and it’s flowing along really well.  I have had to back up a bit and rearrange a couple scenes because this is one of those books I’ve been writing scenes out of order.  I don’t usually do that, but in this book, I know everything that happens in the story so I write what I’m inspired to write when I sit at the computer.

Due out this summer by Parchment & Plume

This will be ready this summer.

The question, of course, is when.  It’s too early to tell.  Until I’m in the middle of a book, I can’t really pinpoint anything specific, but I am still hoping to get it out in June.  I am currently sitting down and planning this book.  I have some good scenes planned out and am already at chapter 4 where I set the stage.  This book takes place at the same time Boaz’s Wager does, so as I’m going through Boaz’s Wager, I’m lining up what Patty says she’s doing so I can match it up in this book.

Cover Change

I decided to change the cover for Royal Hearts, which is book 2 in the Enchanted Galaxy Series.  I felt the original cover was a little too “young adult” looking in the face.

My books are not for the young adult market, so I don’t want to send out the wrong message.  I decided to go with a model who looks older.  This is what it is now.