Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 78

Closing the Larson Series (at least for now)

I’ve had to make a hard decision, but it’s one that I had to make.  I love the Larsons.  They’re a great family.  But circumstances propel me to move on to other series with new characters.  I know this won’t make some people happy, but it’s something I need to do in order to help boost my creativity.  After a while, I think authors need a new set of characters to develop.

So here’s what I’m going to do.

I’m going to pull down Wagon Trail Bride and His Convenient Wife.

Then I’m going to number the Nebraska Historical Romance Series (aka Nebraska Series) from 1-9.  Here’s the official order:

1. Her Heart’s Desire

2. A Bride for Tom

3. A Husband for Margaret

4. Eye of the Beholder

5. The Wrong Husband

6. Shotgun Groom

7. To Have and To Hold

8. His Redeeming Bride

9. Isaac’s Decision

***

I’m going to make Kent Ashton’s Backstory and Catching Kent standalones.

These two are tied up in Falling In Love With Her Husband, though not directly.  And that makes them so hard to place anywhere.  So I’m just going to put them under my “Other Historical Western Romance” category.

***

Now it’s time to clean up my blog and website to make these changes effective.

***

I’ll make a post in a day or two about where I’ll be going with my writing.  I’ve been wanting to do some mail-order bride westerns and this just might be the time to get the fresh start by working on a trilogy along those lines.

Belated Story Sample Sunday: Finishing Up Kent Ashton’s Backstory

I spent all of Thanksgiving weekend in Minnesota without Internet.  I got back yesterday but had to catch up on some emails and work on the budget (something I do at the first of every month when I pay the bills).  So I couldn’t hop on here until today.

Good news though… I finished the first draft to Perry’s story.  It turned out a lot better than I expected and does a great job of wrapping things up for the series.  (Remember what I said about dividing up more of my books and putting them into a series?  I decided to lump The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife, A Most Unsuitable Earl, His Reluctant Lady, and The Earl’s Scandalous Wife into the same series.  Her Counterfeit Husband is now a standalone novel.)

Now that the immediate update is aside, here is the conclusion to Kent Ashton’s Backstory…

Kent sat on bench, head in his hands, as he waited for his father at the train station.  So many things went wrong.  The future he had looked forward to for so long was shattered and there was nothing he could do to fix it.  He felt like such a fool.  Why didn’t he understand what Ann had been trying to tell him when he saw her in November?  That she was happy with Todd.  That she no longer loved him?  Looking back, it was so obvious.  There was nothing else she could have done to tell him she no longer wanted to be with him.

He brushed more tears from his eyes and focused on the pain in his arm.  It was easier to deal with physical pain than the pain in his heart.  He inspected his wounds and noticed no glass got into his arm.  Well, that was good.  While he was bound to have scars, at least he didn’t require a doctor.

He mentally cursed himself for being such a fool.  He should have known Ann had moved on.  He should have known she wouldn’t be pining for him.

Never again.

Never again would be open himself to someone the way he’d opened himself to Ann.  From this moment forward, he vowed never to fall in love again.  It was too painful.  And the pain wasn’t worth it.

Someone sat next to him.  He didn’t have to look at his father to know it was him.  The grunt of grave disapproval was all he needed to hear.  He blinked back more tears, determined his father wouldn’t see him cry.

“I’m sending you to your uncle,” his father said, his tone indicating that he had no choice in the matter.  “Maybe while you’re living the life of a peasant, you’ll get an appreciation for all I’ve done for you.”

Kent let out a bitter laugh then looked at him.  “All you’ve done for me?  All you’ve ever done is use me to get what you want.  That’s all you do to anyone you come across.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask him what he’d told Todd and Ann so he looked innocent of everything but decided he didn’t want to know.  His father had manipulated things.  He knew it as sure as he knew his name and that was enough.

“Before you got back on your horse,” his father continued, “I took the liberty of retrieving the money you brought with you.”

Kent stiffened and checked the leather sack he had placed beside him.  It was empty.  “You stole my money?”

“No, I took back the money Mr. Johnson gave you.  You think it’s a small matter that you’ve made a fool of me and of him?  Not only have you disgraced me but now Rebecca’s long gone to who knows where.”

“It’s because of you all this happened.  If you’d just let me be with Ann—”

“Who’s better off with Todd.  You and I both know that’s true so don’t pretend that her being with him is worse for her.”

“She could have been happy with me.”

“Not as much as she is with him.  Whether you want to admit it or not, I did the best thing for you.”

“Including manipulating things so I almost married Rebecca?”

His father shrugged.  “If you had followed through and married her, you’d be on your way to being one of the wealthiest men in Virginia.”

“What good is money if neither she nor I would have been happy?”

“You will never be rich if you insist on being happy.  Wealth means sacrifice.  It means doing whatever is necessary to obtain it.”

“Including hurting people?”

“If it must be, then it must be.  Had you listened to me to begin with, you would have pursued Rebecca instead of Ann.  The only one to blame for your unhappiness is you.”

The comment was so absurd that Kent couldn’t help but laugh.  He never met anyone who could explain away his actions as well as his father could.  “You know what?” Kent finally said.  “Take the money.  It’s tainted because it’s connected to you.  Some day I will build up wealth, but I’m not going to do it the way you did, through lies and using people.  I’m going to do it honestly, and when I have it, I’ll use it to help others instead of manipulating them.”

His father chuckled and shook his head.  “You won’t be anything but a pauper for the rest of your life.” The train pulled into the station and he rose to his feet.  “I sent your uncle a letter.  He’ll be expecting you at the end of next month.”

Refusing to look at him, Kent stood up and boarded the train.  He wouldn’t see his father ever again once he got on the ship, and that suited him just fine.

 

***

 

At the end of the next month, Kent stepped off the ship in Ireland, exhausted but relieved to have finally completed the long journey.  America was a long way behind him.  In some ways, everything that happened over the past year seemed like it happened in another lifetime.  Ann, Todd, Rebecca, his father…  All of it was behind him.  Exactly where it should be.

He scanned the faces in the crowd of people gathered to greet the passengers of the ship, focusing on the men who looked as if they didn’t have any money to their name.  His uncle had written to his father that he’d be wearing a red bow tie, saying it would be easier to spot him in a crowd that way.  And Kent did find someone wearing a red bow tie, except this was a man of means, not a peasant who needed help on his farm.

Kent turned his attention to the brass tag in his hand and wondered if he should collect his trunk, which currently contained all the things he owned, which wasn’t much.  Just his clothes.  He decided to wait on giving the tag to the person retrieving luggage and turned his attention to the men in the crowd.  But none of the men who looked like farmers were wearing red bow ties.  He tapped the tag in his hand and sighed.  Maybe his uncle forgot to come.

“Pardon me, are you Kent Ashton?”

Kent turned and saw the same well-dressed man with the red bow tie he’d seen a couple minutes before.  Eyebrows furrowed, he wondered what the man wanted with him.  “Yes, I’m Kent.”

A smile spread across the man’s face and he gave him a friendly pat on the back.  “I’m Patrick Ashton, your uncle.”

“But,” he glanced at the man’s clothes that spoke of wealth and abundance, “you can’t be my uncle.  My uncle is a poor farmer.”

“That is what I told your father so he wouldn’t interfere in my life.” He gestured to the tag in Kent’s hand.  “Let’s get your trunks then I can explain everything.”

As they headed for the man who was bringing people their luggage, Kent said, “I only have one trunk.”

His uncle waved to a man who hurried over to them.  “This is my footman.  He will bring it to the carriage.”

Kent handed the tag to the baggage handler who went to get his trunk.  When he brought it to them, the footman picked it up.

“You don’t have much,” his uncle commented as they headed for his carriage.  “I expected something larger.”

He shrugged.  “I thought I would barely have room for that trunk in my bedroom.”

“It’s alright, Kent.  You can tell me the truth.”

“The truth?”

“Your father left you with little else but the clothes on your back because you refused to do what he wanted.”

Kent hesitated to answer.  While he had no respect for his father, he had a hard time voicing his thoughts about him.

They stopped in front of the carriage with gold trim, and his uncle turned caring eyes in his direction.  “I know what your father is like.  I grew up with him.”

Unsure of what to say, Kent remained silent and sat in the carriage.

His uncle waited until they were out of town before he continued to speak.  “When your father left for America, he had stolen a significant portion of my half of the inheritance.”

“But he said that your father didn’t have anything.”

“My father left both of us a fortune.  My mistake was trusting him when he said he wanted to be partners with me and ran off to America with most of my money.  If he didn’t have any money left, it’s because he made bad investments, gambled it away, or lived beyond his means.  Maybe it was a little of each one.  It took time, but I built back my wealth and then some.  I never told your father because I was afraid he’d come back.”

Kent stared out the carriage window as they traveled down a path in the country.  Rubbing his eyes, he said, “I don’t understand why you want me to be here.  I thought I was supposed to help you with a farm because you have no wife or children to help you.”

“It’s true I don’t have a wife or children, but what I have is a nephew.  When I heard what happened in New York, about Wilma and how your father wouldn’t let you marry her because she didn’t come from a wealthy family, I knew your father was trying to use you the same way he’d used me.”

Looking at his uncle, he noted the concern on the older man’s face.  “So all that time you wrote those letters…”

“I was hoping to save you from a bad situation.”

Kent’s gaze went back out the window where a large estate appeared on the horizon.  He leaned forward to get a better view of the manor, the grounds, and the gazebo.  Never in his life had he seen anything so luxurious.  If his father had any idea how much wealth his uncle possessed, he would have never let him come here.  He would have kept him in Virginia and had him work for him.

“Kent,” his uncle began, his voice soft, “I don’t know exactly what your father put you through, but I hope you can put all of that behind you and move on.  It does no good to dwell on the past.  I brought you here for a fresh start.”

Tears welled up in Kent’s eyes as he stared at the manor, which was coming closer into view as the carriage proceeded down the path.  “I never knew money could cause so many problems.”

“It’s not money that causes problems.  It’s what people do with it that causes problems.  You’ll learn that in time.”

“I’ve made such a mess of things.  Did my father tell you that I went to North Dakota?  I tried to break up a marriage.  I frightened the woman I love.  I made her think I was going to hurt her when that wasn’t my intention.  She hates me now, and who can blame her?” Though he tried not to cry, the tears fell.  He grabbed the handkerchief in his breast pocket and wiped them away.  “I thought she wanted money.  I waited until I had enough before I went to her, and now I know she could have been happy with me without it.  She’s happy with a farmer who can’t give her much more than a simple gold band.” He wiped more tears away and chuckled at the irony of it all.  “If I’d only known that, I would have married her and taken her with me to New York as soon as I could.  But every decision I made was the wrong one.”

“Kent, I know that you’re ashamed of what you’ve done, but you can’t change the past.  What happened is already done.  Grieve it, learn from it, become a better person because of it.  But don’t stay trapped in the cycle of wishing you’d done things differently.  You can’t let your past ruin your future.”

“You really think I can be a better person?”

“I wouldn’t have insisted your father send you here if I didn’t.  You have a decision to make.  Either you’re going to be a better person because of this experience or you’re not.”

“I want to be a better person.”

His uncle smiled.  “Good because I brought you here for a new start.  Everything that happened in America is behind you.  When the carriage door opens, you will get an opportunity to be the person you want to be.”

The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the manor and a few seconds later, the footman opened the door.  Kent studied his new home with the green hills that spanned around them in all directions.  It was nothing like New York or Virginia, and that meant, he wouldn’t have anything to remind him of the past.  In this place, he’d get another chance and there was nothing he wanted more.

He glanced at his uncle, feeling a glimmer of happiness that he hadn’t experienced in a long time.  “I want a new start.”

His uncle’s smile widened.

Returning his uncle’s smile, he stepped out of the carriage to begin his new life, leaving the past where it belonged—in the past.

The Stagecoach Bride is Now Available!

The book is now live on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.  :-)

Here are the links if interested:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

*For those of you on my new release list, I am now using MailChimp and hope it went through okay.  I thought it might be better in the long run to use it since you can see the book cover and unsubscribe by using the link at the very bottom of the email.

Sunday Story Sample: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

Next week, I will finish this story.  I’m ready to move on to other samples.  :-)

In April, Kent cashed out his investments.  He had waited long enough.  Within a day, he’d be out of Virginia, and he’d never look back.  He went to the train station and waited for Samuel who had written that he’d be bringing Rebecca with him.

When he got there, Samuel was standing next to a woman wearing a hat that made her hard to recognize unless someone looked directly at her.  She also wore a dress that marked her as someone who didn’t come from wealth, which made her even harder to recognize in the crowd.  Samuel was fortunate to have a woman who looked beyond money and was willing to give it up to be with him.

From the way Rebecca was smiling, Kent knew this was the best thing for her.  He’d never seen her this happy in all the time he’d known her.  And Samuel looked just as happy to be by her side.  Yes, the two would do very well together.

“Thank you for helping us,” Rebecca said when Kent approached them.

“I haven’t seen you since October,” he replied as he handed Samuel the envelope with the money they would need to start their lives together.  “You look good.”

“I thought if I stayed away from others, it’d be easier to escape.”

She had chosen the best option she could have.  Had he not needed to work and accumulate more money, he would have stayed hidden, too.  God knew the stares and whispers were hard to endure, but he’d managed to survive it because he reminded himself that he’d be with Ann soon enough.

“I don’t know how we can repay you,” Samuel told Kent as he examined the amount of money he’d given them.

“Get to Canada and enjoy being together,” Kent said.  “That’s the best way to repay me.”

“We’ll be able to do that,” Rebecca began, “thanks to you.” She gave Kent a quick hug.  “Good luck, Kent.  We’ll never forget you.”

Smiling, he thanked her and joined them to the ticket counter, ready to purchase his ticket to North Dakota.

 

***

 

The first thing Kent did when he arrived in Jamestown was find out how to get to Ann’s house.  Then he paid to borrow a horse from the livery stable.  His heartbeat picked up when he saw her house come into view.

From the yard, a dog barked, waking Ann from the porch swing.  She sat up for a moment before she entered the house.  She probably didn’t recognize him from the distance.  But that didn’t matter.

Soon, they’d be together again, and she’d never be a prisoner again.  She’d annul her sham of a marriage and start a real marriage with him.  He hated thinking of how much time she’d spent out here, forced into a life of misery, anxiously waiting for his return.

When he arrived at the house, he tied the reins to a post and stepped up on the porch.  The dog stood between him and the door, barking at him.

“Shoo,” he told the dog, but the animal kept advancing toward him.  He hesitated then tried to step around the dog, but it snarled at him.  “It’s alright.  I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

He took another tentative step up to the door and knocked on it, hoping Ann would answer.  What did Todd do?  Train the dog to intimidate anyone who came to the property?  His determination renewed, he knocked on the door again.

“Ann?” he called out.  “It’s me, Kent.  Can you open up, please?”

The dog barked again, this time choosing to advance toward him.

Kent gulped.  He’d never been fond of dogs, and this one definitely didn’t look friendly.  He knocked on the door again, this time harder and more insistent than before.  He couldn’t leave without Ann. He’d come too far to leave without her.  And she was depending on him.  He couldn’t let her down.  Taking a deep breath, he ignored the dog’s growling and knocked on the door again.  Why wasn’t she answering?  He tested the doorknob, but it didn’t turn.  Why would she lock the door?

The dog leapt at him.

Startled, he stumbled back, his elbow shattering the window in the door.  He pulled his arm out of the broken window and examined the wound.  The sleeve of his shirt was ripped.  He rolled it up to examine the damage, the dog still barking in its annoying way.  The cut wasn’t too bad, though he was bleeding as if it was.

“Stop it!” He yelled at the stupid animal and waved for it to leave.  Some of his blood got on the animal, which served it right for scaring him.  “Go!”

The dog growled and closed in on Kent.  Before he had time to react, he fell against the door, screamed for the dog to get away from him, and covered his head with his good arm, using his wounded one to push the animal away from him.  The dog finally left, running down the porch and to the fields.

Relieved, Kent relaxed against the door, his heart hammering in his chest.  What was wrong with that dog?  He shook his head and rose to his feet.  It was Todd’s dog.  His guard dog.

Well, the dog was gone so Kent could safely enter the house now.  He reached in through the shattered window and unlocked the door.

Silence filled the house.  He walked through the parlor, searching for any signs of Ann, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight.  He turned to the staircase and headed up it.

“Ann?” he called out.  “Are you here?”

She had to be here.  He saw her enter the house.

“Ann,” he tried again, “I know you’re here.  I saw you from the porch when I was coming here.”

He reached the top of the steps and held his wounded arm to try to stop the flow of blood, but a few drops landed on the hardwood floor in the hallway.  He grimaced.  This wasn’t going to make her feel safe about him being here.  He quickly took the handkerchief from his breast pocket and placed it on the wound.  It wouldn’t soak up the blood for long, but at least it worked for now.

He stopped at one of the bedrooms, seeing nothing but a bed and empty dresser.  Then he went into another bedroom that was similar.  No one had slept in either room for quite a while.

Ann had to be somewhere up here.  He’d already checked the downstairs.  Laughing in disbelief, he said, “I don’t understand why you’re hiding from me.” Unless…  Maybe she couldn’t answer him because Todd was there, holding his hand over her mouth.  Just how far would Todd go to keep her?  “Is Todd here too?  Is he keeping you quiet?”

He looked under the bed but saw nothing was under it.

“It’s alright, Ann.  Just knock and I’ll know where to find you,” he said as he went back to the first bedroom and looked under the bed.

His steps a little faster, he went to the last bedroom, afraid if he waited too long Todd might do something drastic, like hurt her.  But when he got to the bedroom, he stilled, unprepared for what he saw.  Her things were with Todd’s.

He swallowed the bitter lump in his throat, his hand clenching into a fist.  “Hmm…  It looks like you two got friendly.  I thought you were going to stay pure for me.  I told you I’d be back for you.”

Todd.  It had to be Todd’s doing.  Todd saw him talking to Ann at the mercantile and probably forced her to consummate the marriage.  He lifted the edge of the bed sheet but no one was under there.  Then he went to the armoire but only clothes hung from there.  She had been up here.

He glanced out the window and caught sight of her running in the yard, heading in the direction of the barn.  Hurrying to the window, he opened it with his good hand.  “Ann?  Are you running away from me?” he yelled, shocked she would do such a thing, unless Todd was downstairs waiting for him.

Gritting his teeth, he stormed down the stairs, ready to confront Todd and tell him he had no right to keep Ann here against her will.  He went through the kitchen and parlor, checking everywhere a man might hide but found nothing.  Shaking his head, he rubbed his forehead.  Why would Ann run from him?  Was she ashamed because she wasn’t a virgin anymore?

He hurried out of the house and followed her as she fled to the barn.  “Ann!  Wait!  I can forgive you for sleeping with Todd,” he called out.

She entered the barn, not looking back.  She probably didn’t hear him.  He could only imagine what Todd had put her through if she was too afraid to talk to him.  Well, after today, she wouldn’t have to fear Todd again.

He followed her and once he entered the barn, he found her standing by one of the stalls, holding an axe.  He halted, his eyes wide in shock.  “Ann, I came back for you.  Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Go away!” she yelled.  “I want to be here.  I love Todd.”

Of all the things she could say to him, this took him by surprise.  Recalling all the times she’d insisted she didn’t want to be with Todd, he asked, “What has happened to you out here?  Have you gone mad?”

“Please, leave,” she said, tears in her eyes.

Todd.  It had to be Todd.  Maybe Todd told her something that made her afraid of him.  “Ann, I wouldn’t hurt you.  I love you.  I want to marry you.  It should have been you.  Rebecca got in the way.  She seduced me, as I’m sure Todd seduced you.” He paused.  It wasn’t accurate to say Rebecca seduced him.  She hadn’t.  That was how it looked at first, but it hadn’t been the way it seemed.  He glanced around the barn.  Did he really have time to explain everything when Todd could show up at any moment?  With a sigh, he ventured, “Can’t you understand that I never wanted to end our courtship?”

“It doesn’t matter what happened, Kent.  We’ve already made our choices.  You have to move on.”

He felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.  Was this the same person who’d told him she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, wanted him to do everything he could to make sure they ended up together?  “Are you preaching at me?” He moved forward a step, unable to believe she, of all people, would tell him to leave her alone.

She took a step back, glancing over her shoulder at the horse in the stall.

“I’ve had enough of people reminding me that I need to move on,” he said, thinking of their parents and all the grief they’d given him.  “What I need is to get back to the way things were a year ago.  You can’t honestly stand there and tell me you like it here.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, Ann!  You’re not supposed to like it here.  Todd forced you out here and kept you a prisoner against your will.  I’m here to save you.”

She shook her head.  “I want to be here.”

“No!” He took another step toward her.

She shrieked and swung the axe.

He immediately backed away, shocked she’d try to hurt him.  All this time out here with Todd…  She must have lost her wits.  There was no other way to explain her strange reaction to him.

She reached for the latch on the stall door.

Seeing his chance to get the axe, he grabbed it, and as he pulled it away from her, she fell to the ground.  He shook his head when he saw her trembling.  Just what did Todd do to her?  “Do you think I’m going to use this on you?” He put the axe gently on the ground.  “I don’t want to hurt you, Ann.  I want to marry you.”

“I’m not yours.”

“We can change that.  You ran away with Todd.  Run away with me.”

“No.”

She rose to her feet, shaking her head.

“You have to love me, Ann,” he pleaded, struggling to get her to understand, to remember how things had been between them, before Todd made her forget.

He reached out to embrace her, but something hard struck him across the side of his head.  Pain throbbing in his temple, he released her and touched the wound.  He glanced at the floor and saw the rock she’d used to hit him with.

It took him a moment before he could collect his thoughts together.  He couldn’t believe she had resorted to flinging an axe around and hitting people with rocks.  That kind of behavior had to be a result of the things Todd had done to her.  He had to get her out of here.  Even if it would take time for her to learn to trust him again, he wouldn’t give up on her.  He promised to love her forever, and he’d fulfill that promise no matter how much work it took.

He turned his attention to her as she was climbing the door of the stall.  He hurried forward and grabbed her foot before she could fall in, before the horse could hurt her.  She grabbed the horse’s neck, and it bucked in protest.  She lost her balance and fell forward.  He tried to hold on to her, but everything happened so fast, all he could do was grab the hem of her dress.  He inwardly cursed himself for being so careless and started to climb the stall to pull her out before the horse stepped on her.

“Let me go!” she screamed and kicked at him.

A gunshot rang through the air and Kent felt a bullet graze his ear.  Startled, he stumbled back, finding it difficult to gain his footing.  He grabbed his ear.  Blood seeped through his fingers.

“Get away from my wife.”

Looking up, he saw Todd sitting on a horse, a rifle pointed at him. Kent slowly backed away from the stall, his hands up in the air.  Todd probably thought he was trying to hurt her, especially since she was huddled in the stall and crying.

“It’s not what it looks like,” he told Todd.

Todd urged his horse forward, his hold on the rifle steady and focused on him.

Kent backed up until his back hit the wall of the barn.

Todd glanced at the stall where Ann was.  “Are you alright?”

Surprised by the tenderness in Todd’s voice, Kent studied Ann who wiped her tears away and peered up at Todd with a look that she used to reserve for him.  That’s when he realized her feelings had changed in her time out here.  She loved Todd.  Todd wasn’t keeping her here against her will.  She really did want to be here.  Kent swallowed back his tears.  All this time he’d been holding on for the chance to be with her, and she’d moved on.  And who could blame her?  He had ended their courtship and got engaged to Rebecca.  She had been true to him, but he hadn’t been true to her.  This was his error, and he was going to have to pay the consequences for getting drunk for the rest of his life.

Todd inched the horse forward, directing his attention back to him.  “I ought to kill you for attacking my wife.”

“Don’t…I…” Kent’s voice shook.  “I won’t come back.  I promise.”

“How do I know you’ll leave her alone?” Todd demanded as the dog ran into the barn, barking.

Ignoring the dog, Kent motioned to Todd’s gun.  “Look at you.  You’re ready to kill me.  I don’t want to die.” His touched his ear and examined the blood on his fingertips.  Then, he turned his gaze back to Todd.  “I understand now.  She wants to be with you.  I thought I was rescuing her but I wasn’t.”

“You told her parents you would leave her alone.   But here you are.  I don’t believe a word you’re saying.  I think you’ll say anything to get out of trouble.”

He started to shake his head and explain that he didn’t realize Ann had fallen in love with him when someone called out, “Mr. Brothers?”

Todd glanced over his shoulder.

Kent followed his gaze and saw his father standing in the doorway of the barn.  Realizing that this might be his only means of escape without having a bullet put in his hide, he hurried out of the gun’s range.

“Son,” his father said with a disapproving scowl, “you have caused much grief to your mother and I.  Mr. Brothers, I apologize for trusting my son to stay away from your wife.  Kent, get your horse.  I want to talk to Mr. Brothers.”

Kent nodded and left the barn, leaving his father to tell Todd whatever he wanted, knowing full well his father wouldn’t tell him the truth about the engagement, how he manipulated Rebecca into making him think he slept with her, how he did everything possible to make sure Kent would never marry Ann.  No, his father would make himself look good, leaving Kent to blame for the whole mess.

And at this point, Kent didn’t care.  What did it matter anymore?  All of his plans…his dreams…the future he wanted with Ann were gone.  As he got up on the horse, he couldn’t help but look at his father who was talking to Todd and Ann.  Todd had his arm around Ann, and she leaned into him, another indication that she now loved him.  Would always love him.  Ignoring the tears in his eyes, Kent urged his horse off Todd and Ann’s property.

Updates on What I’ve Been Doing (This Time With Writing)

Coming Very Soon – The Stagecoach Bride

I sent The Stagecoach Bride back to Stephannie Beman, and now she’s going through the final read through.  She will be publishing it.

Also Coming Very Soon – Bride by Arrangement

The Anthology Janet Syas Nitsick and I Are Working On

I’m in the final editing stages of my novella, and Janet is working on the final edits of her novella.  We will send the publisher the book on December 2.  From there, it looks like it’ll be a month and then it’ll be available.

The Earl’s Scandalous Wife – Almost Done With the First Draft

I probably get more questions about Perry than any other hero.  Dave Larson might have something to worry about because I don’t recall getting as much interest in Dave as I am with Perry.

I’ve really enjoyed writing this book.  It was rough at first to get going, but once I figured out the main plot, the whole thing has been pretty much writing itself.  I think the first draft will be done early next month which puts the estimated publishing time around early January.

After categorizing my series, this book will finish up the Marriage by Scandal Series in the Regency Collection.

The books officially in the Marriage by Scandal Series are as follows: The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife, A Most Unsuitable Earl, His Reluctant Lady, and The Earl’s Scandalous Wife.

As a side note: I have moved Her Counterfeit Husband to a “Standalone Novel” part of the Regency Collection.  The characters featured in this novel don’t have anything to do with the other books.

Boaz’s Wager

This one has stalled a bit.  I’m at a transition period for the hero and heroine.  It’s that step between a marriage of convenience and the moment where they realize they love each other.  I don’t know how long it’ll take to break through this, but I’m not going to push it.  This is why I work on more than one book at a time.  If I get stumped on one, I have others to write.

The Earl’s Secret Bargain marks the first book in the  Marriage by Arrangement Series

I’ve already got plans for book 2 in this series.  I haven’t come up with a title or cover yet, but I do have the beginning of a plot in mind.

As for this book, I’m still in the initial stages of writing it.  Due to everything else going on, I haven’t done too much in it.  But even if I’m not writing, I am thinking over what to do in the book.

*Like this book, I am not writing in Wagon Trail Bride and His Convenient Wife at the moment either.

Marriage Can Kill – My First Romantic Suspense

In 2009, I started this book.  Back then I stopped at 29,000 words because I didn’t know how the book ended, and unless I knew where I was going, I couldn’t continue.  Parts of the middle had to connect to the ending.

It finally clicked into place when I was at the writer’s conference.  Since I am about halfway through the novel, I’m going to pick it back up and do some rewrites that will help flesh out where I’m going.

I spent all evening working on the cover.  Stephannie Beman had done the original cover for me.  I was going to publish it under a pen name, but then I thought, “I don’t have time to worry about a pen name.” I’m doing good to work on the stuff I am without trying to keep two different identities straight.  I’ll put “Romantic Suspense” next to the title when I publish it and have put “Romantic Suspense” on the cover.  So if Romantic Suspense isn’t your cup of tea, you can skip it.

Also, another note about the original cover that Stephannie worked on…  It was a really good cover, but then I realized I couldn’t have a cover that was too sensuous.  It doesn’t fit my other books.  Even if I’m working under different sub-genres in the romance genre, I like to have a certain consistency between the covers.  So I found a few pictures that better define my type of books.

This is what I came up with:

I’ll be adding this book to the right side of this blog soon.  When I come up with a description, I’ll put the it on this blog and my website.

Process I Used to Set Up a Corporation (For Anyone Who Might Find The Information Useful)

As a quick note, Rose Gordon, Stephannie Beman, and Melanie Nilles for answering my initial questions that helped me to get started.  I also read through some useful information in a couple of books (which are mentioned in this blog post).

Another quick note: Whether or not to set up a corporation depends on your needs.  It’s not something I think every author needs to do.  :-)

Another quick note: I have no idea what international tax and business laws are.  This is what I did in the United States.  I am not an expert.  I am still learning as I go.  For advice in your situation, I recommend finding an attorney who knows business and tax laws or Certified Public Accountant who is familiar with small businesses.  (When in doubt, find someone who is qualified to answer your questions.)

So anyway, here are the steps I took.  I’m not done yet, but at least I got the ball rolling.

1.  I talked to an attorney who specializes in business and tax laws.

The initial meeting basically had to do with why I wanted to form a corporation, what I did, and what my needs were.  Based on her recommendation, I went to the Certified Public Accountant who specializes in small businesses.

I found this attorney with prayer and an internet search.  After that, it was based on a gut feeling when I talked to the receptionist.  (Yes, I realize gut feelings aren’t objective, but I’ve learned long ago to trust my gut.)

2.  I talked to the accountant the attorney recommended. 

This was basically the same kind of meeting.  I told him what I did and my income.  Based off the conversation, he suggested I form an LLC with an S-Corporation election.  Basically what it means is that I’m taxed as an S-Corporation and will become the employee and owner of the company.  This gets a little tricky, and it took a week for me to wrap my mind around it.  As the owner, I have to pay myself as an employee a set salary.  This salary is subject to self-employment tax, plus all the other taxes that employees pay.  The rest of the money (after the salary is paid) goes into the corporation.  That is the part that isn’t subject to self-employment tax, but yes, I do pay taxes off of that too.  Then after the corporation pays me (as the employee) and pays its expenses and taxes, what is left over is a “dividend” (which is another way of saying “profit”).  I can then use that profit for personal expenses.

However, the IRS is pretty strict about the S-Corporation election so I had to give myself a “reasonable wage” based on what I do as a writer.  I decided on my salary based off the advice of my accountant and some research I did on the median income a writer can expect to make.  The income of a writer widely varies, so the input from the accountant played a key role in making this decision.

The accountant then recommended a payroll company called Paychex to handle the necessary stuff I need in order to pay myself as an employee.

But before I went to them, I went back to the attorney.

3.  I went back to the attorney who filed the necessary paperwork for me to create an LLC with an S-Corporation election.

Yes, I could have done this myself, but I felt better about hiring the attorney to do this for me.   Yes, it cost more to pay her to do it, but for me, it was the best choice.  I went there twice.  Once was to sign papers and give my payment to get the ball rolling so I could form the corporation.

The second time was to sign off on the corporation “Operating Agreement” (which I did read but will have to refer to from time to time to refresh myself on it), the “Certificate of Organization”, IRS form 2553 (to be taxed as an S-Corporation).  She then filed and sent out the forms to where they needed to go.  On this day, I also got my Employer Identification Number.

4.  My next stop was to set up a business checking account with my local bank.

After I did this, I transferred my information at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords, so I could be paid directly to the corporation.  For Smashwords, I get paid through PayPal, so I updated my new bank information over there, too.

5.  I met with the sales consultant at Paychex.

Paychex specializes in payroll for small businesses.  They will automatically take out my taxes as an employee every month and send that to the IRS.  The only thing I will need to do is consult the accountant every quarter to figure out how much I need to pay in taxes from my corporate account (as the owner).  Basically, the taxes I need to pay as an employee will be automatically taken out for me every month from Paychex.  So I don’t have to figure any of that out.

What I have left over after I pay myself as an employee will need to go to the accountant to figure out the taxes I’ll pay four times a year to the IRS.

Paychex and the accountant work together so he can see everything that is going on to help protect me and make sure I am in full compliance with the laws.

A neat feature as an S-Corporation election is that I can actually hire an employee and have Paychex pay that person for me (so I never have to worry about figuring out that person’s taxes which will be automatically taken out and how much in taxes I need to match to it).  It is mandated that I pay workers’ compensation, and I can do that through Paychex, too.

There are other things I can do with Paychex that include retirement plans and various insurance services.

I’m really excited about Paychex and the possibilities that are there because of their service.  I’ve already set up an account with them.

6.  I met with an insurance company that specializes in small businesses.

In addition to everything else, the attorney suggested I get small business insurance and recommended someone so I went to him.  This is stuff that will protect my corporation from any lawsuits.  I can also get workers’ compensation.  Since he works with small businesses, he is able to tailor the insurance package to my specific needs.

7.  I went back to the accountant to get a head start on 2013′s taxes.

For the past two years, I made the mistake of waiting until March to find out what I owed the IRS, and both times, it was a nightmare.   In March of this year, I had to sell my new truck to make up for the money I didn’t have.  This upcoming year, I refuse to be in the same situation.  I want to be prepared well in advance so I can cover myself without having to resort to selling something.  I saw him yesterday and have the dollar amount in my hand so now I can start January 1 with a fresh start.  And I’ll work with him on the quarterly vouchers in 2014.  All I know is that I never want to feel like I’m scrambling around in the dark ever again.

****

I’m not done yet.  I still have to get comfortable with all of this, but at least I got started and am on my way.  I don’t know if any of this will help someone, but just in case, I’m passing what I did along in this post.

There are some things I wish I had done a lot sooner.  These were things the authors I mentioned in the first paragraph of this post recommended but I didn’t do because it sounded scary.  I can’t say that I’m completely “in the know” about the ins and outs of everything, but I at least know who I can go to if any questions pop up.

If anyone is in the Omaha, Nebraska area and is thinking of forming a corporation for your small business (doesn’t have to be writing), I can recommend some good people to go to.

Sunday Story Sample: Kent Ashton’s Backstory

Today I’m combining a couple of scenes together.  Next week, I’ll get to the scene where Kent comes for Ann a second (and final) time.  :-)

A month passed and Kent didn’t see Rebecca.  As his father said, she refused to leave her house.  And as expected, people blamed him for it.  When he wasn’t working, he made it a habit to go by her house.  One time he knocked on the door and was told Rebecca wasn’t receiving visitors.  He couldn’t be surprised, not with the whispers going on around town.

Frustrated, he walked down the porch steps.  How was he supposed to apologize to her when he couldn’t talk to her?  He made it to the bottom of the steps in time for someone to wave from the carriage house.  He glanced at the front door then the windows in the house to make sure no one was watching him before he headed for the carriage house.

Samuel opened the door wider and waved Kent inside.  As he shut the door behind Kent, he turned to face him.  “Mr. Johnson won’t let Rebecca see anyone.  Did you hear the rumors?”

“Who hasn’t?” Kent asked.  “I’m sorry.  I never meant for this to happen.”

“I know you didn’t.  Rebecca knows it too.”

“Have you been able to see her?”

“Twice but not for long.”

“When you see her again, will you tell her I’m sorry?”

Samuel nodded.  “Of course.  And she knows you aren’t to blame.”

“I’m afraid I am.  I went to North Dakota.  I should have waited until the investments matured before going there.” He sighed and slipped his hands into the pockets of his coat.  “Will you still be able to take Rebecca to Canada as you planned?”

“By the time April comes, we’ll be long gone.”

“Good.” At least he hadn’t destroyed that part of the plan.  He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.  “Is she alright?”

“I think she’s relieved.”

“Really?”

Samuel shrugged.  “It’s not in anything she said but in the way she looks, as if a weight’s been lifted off her shoulders.”

He couldn’t blame her for that.  All she had to do was bide her time until she could leave with Samuel.  Then her new life would begin.  Even though she wasn’t going to be surrounded by wealth, he suspected she was going to be much happier.

If Ann could have been content with an income similar to Samuel’s, Todd never would have gotten in the way.  When she ran off with him, didn’t it even occur to her that Todd wouldn’t be able to give her the life she wanted?  No, it hadn’t.  She was so overcome with grief because he ended their courtship that she just wanted to get out of Virginia.  She hadn’t considered what life would be like as a farmer’s wife.

But Rebecca had thought about it and had chosen love over wealth.  She’d been willing to give up love to protect the man she loved.  He had no doubt that she and Samuel would be happy together.  “You and Rebecca will do well together.”

Samuel smiled.  “Thanks to you.  How did things go when you saw Ann?”

“Not as well I hoped.  I should have done a better job of preparing her for my arrival.  Next time will be better.” Next time, Ann would know he was coming to rescue her.  “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Feeling much better about Rebecca, Kent left the carriage house.

 

***

 

Two days later, Kent was in the middle of writing a letter to Ann when a hand slammed over it.  Startled, he turned from the desk in his bedchamber in time to see his father pick up the letter and rip it to shreds.

“Inappropriate,” his father muttered.  “You will not have anything else to do with that Statesman girl, do I make myself clear?”

Gritting his teeth, he rose to his feet and glared at him.  “I don’t believe you have the right to tell me what to do, especially since you’re the reason she ran off with Todd.”

“If she truly loved you, she would have stayed here.”

“She does love me.  It’s because she loves me that she couldn’t stand to watch me and Rebecca parade ourselves all over town like you wanted us to.”

“You fool.  Have you lied to yourself so much that you can no longer tell fact from fiction?  She married another man.  If she loved you, she wouldn’t be Todd’s wife.”

“She was hurt and Todd took advantage of that.”

“It doesn’t matter what the circumstances were.  She’s his now and her parents just came back from seeing them.  According to them, she’s very happy with him.”

Kent shook his head.  No.  He wouldn’t—he couldn’t—believe it.  She couldn’t be happy with Todd.  “Todd’s frightened her, and her parents wanted her to marry him.  They never did like me.  So why would she tell them the truth?”

His father stared at him for a long moment then laughed.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” Kent replied, his eyes narrowing at him.

“Either way, it doesn’t matter now, does it?  You don’t have her.  You never will.  She belongs to Todd, for better or worse.  And I have been subjected to a rather unpleasant visit with her parents, one in which Mr. Statesman made it very clear that you can’t go near her again.  You will go over there and apologize.  You will assure them that you will never go to North Dakota.  Do I make myself clear?”

“And if I don’t?”

His father grasped his shoulder, his fingers digging into him.  “You will do it.  I leave you with no choice.”

“I’m afraid you no longer have any power over me,” Kent argued and shoved his hand off of him.

“That’s where you’re wrong.  I know you and Rebecca have formed an agreement.  I might not know the nature of the agreement, but I can certainly spend time finding out.”

He gritted his teeth.  He hated his father.  As soon as his investments matured, he was going to cash them out and be gone.  Then he’d never have to see him again.  April.  At that time, Rebecca and Samuel would be safe in Canada and his father would have no other way to control him.

Without a word, he brushed past his father and stormed out of the room.  Fine.  He’d do it.  He’d apologize to her parents and promise he wouldn’t go back for her, hoping that she’d understand he had to do it, that his father had given him no choice.  He accepted his coat from his butler and headed out of the house.

 

***

 

Ten minutes later he stood in the Statesmans’ parlor and waited for someone to enter the room.  He couldn’t help but recall all the times her father had refused to let him court her or marry her.  For all he knew, they were plotting with Todd the entire time to get her out of Virginia.

When he heard footsteps approach, he faced the doorway.  It took all of his willpower to not scowl as her father entered the room.

“Mr. Ashton,” her father greeted, his tone cool.

Not surprising, her father didn’t offer him a seat or something to drink.  Kent hadn’t expected anything of the sort.  Her father had never approved of him and never would.

Swallowing the bitter lump in his throat, Kent forced out, “I’m here to apologize for going to North Dakota.  I assure you that I will not do so again.”

After a long moment of silence passed, he offered a stiff nod.  “See that you don’t.”

Kent waited to see if her father would say anything else, but he didn’t.  Instead, he stared at him, his expression unreadable, his eyes penetrating him.

“If it’s alright with you, I’ll take my leave now,” Kent finally said.

Her father didn’t reply, so he took that as permission to do so and strode to the parlor door.  As he reached it, her father called out, “If you do go to North Dakota, you better not step foot in Virginia again.”

He paused, a snide remark on the tip of his tongue.  Her father cared nothing about her happiness.  How her father could wish for her to be with someone she didn’t love—wouldn’t ever love—was beyond him.  Unclenching his hands, he left the house.

Some Things I Want to Answer Ahead of Time

During the course of this week, I made some changes, and it occurred to me that some people might have questions regarding what I’ve done.

1. Temporary Removal of Some of My Books at Barnes and Noble

First of all, since I created a corporation, I had to take all of the books I uploaded directly to Barnes and Noble off of the site.  The books that were already uploaded through Smashwords are still up there.  But the ones I put up myself using Nook Press had to be unpublished because I had to create a new account with my new business information in it.  I have already uploaded the books again in the new account, but I am waiting for Nook Press to verify my information before I can publish them.

The books currently in transition are A Most Unsuitable Earl, Her Counterfeit Husband, His Reluctant Lady, Runaway Bride, and His Abducted Bride.

I have transferred a few other books for Smashwords to upload to Barnes and Noble for me.  Those books are Bound by Honor Bound by Love, Mitch’s Win, To Have and To Hold, Her Heart’s Desire, Kent Ashton’s Backstory, and Catching Kent.

The rest of my books won’t be affected by this change.  I have no idea how long it’ll take for the affected books to get back up on Barnes and Noble.

2. I’m still going to write Sep’s story.

September (aka. Sep) was April’s younger brother in Shotgun Groom.  I get quite a few questions from time to time about his story.  Yes, I do plan to write it, but I’m not going to include it in the Nebraska series.

I’m not sure whether Sep’s story will be a standalone or part of a series.  I don’t even have a plot for his book yet, so it’s too hard to make a call on the direction it’ll go in.

3. The Nebraska Series finally has a numerical order to it, but I can’t put it in place until I publish Wagon Trail Bride.

I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people who want numbers placed beside these books, and I can finally give it.  The total number in the series will be 10.

Wagon Trail Bride starts the series, so I can’t officially number them until I publish this book.  I plan on doing that some time next year.

Here’s the list in chronological order:

Wagon Trail Bride
Her Heart’s Desire
A Bride for Tom
A Husband for Margaret
Eye of the Beholder
The Wrong Husband
Shotgun Groom
To Have and To Hold
His Redeeming Bride
Isaac’s Decision

*Because of this, I have decided not to do another Dave and Mary book.  If I do anything with them, I’ll just do one of those serials that plays out like a TV show similar to Little House on the Prairie in that it will have a complete beginning, middle, and end to each novelette/novella.

4. What about other books featuring characters from the Nebraska world?

I am still going to write books with other characters in the Nebraska world, but I will divide them up into different series that will fall under the “Nebraska Historical Romance Collection.”

I have created a series called Second Chance Series which will include Kent Ashton’s Backstory (really as a 0.5 book but since I can’t designate a 0.5 setting on Smashwords, I had to go with 1).  Catching Kent is book 2.  His Convenient Wife is going to be book 3.   I’m not sure if more will go in with that series or not.

5. I have divided up the Regency Collection, too.

I originally thought I was going to include Anna or Jason from Her Counterfeit Husband in with other Regency books, but they just haven’t fit anywhere.  So I have made that a standalone book.

This actually turned out to be a very freeing move.  Now I can better separate The Earl’s Secret Bargain from the other books I currently have in the collection because I see a series emerging from this particular book that isn’t going to heavily involve plot points or the other characters.  I’ll still have familiar characters pop up from time to time but they will be background characters, not the main ones.

6. I have created two series in the Regency Collection.

Marriage by Scandal Series has these books:

The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife
A Most Unsuitable Earl
His Reluctant Lady
The Earl’s Scandalous Wife.

*Out of the Regencies I’ve done so far, these four books have main characters and histories that go the best together.  I expect Perry’s book to be the last one in this particular series.

Marriage by Arrangement Series begins with this book:

1. The Earl’s Secret Bargain

*I already have a story in mind for the best friend of the hero in The Earl’s Secret Bargain, and this best friend doesn’t really hang out with Nate, Perry, Christopher, or Ethan.  I expect this series will have 3-4 books total in it.

7. Having More Books Demands Greater Flexibility Between Series

I guess the lesson I’ve learned is that I can’t keep bringing back the same main characters as characters that have prominent roles in every single book I write.  Sometimes I just have to let them go and move on to others.  But this doesn’t mean, a character can’t pop up from time to time in other books.  That’s one of the things I love about having more books out.  I get to “see” how past characters are doing when they show up.

8. Where I Want To Go In Writing

My goal is to write 100 romances (these include novellas and novels, not short stories).  I know I have books in other genres, but my primary focus is in romance, and even in the romance genre, I’ve done multiple sub-genres.  I want to expand to Romantic Suspense next year and who knows where that will lead?

Up to now, I have 35 romances (I do count Kent Ashton’s Backstory as one only because it’s a complete story in itself and leads to Catching Kent).  With my co-authored book with Stephannie Beman (The Stagecoach Bride) and my anthology with Janet Syas Nitsick (Bride by Arrangement) due out next month and in January, that will make 37.  It’s very exciting.  I might not hit 100, but I’m going to have a lot of fun trying.  Next year, I hope to get to 43 to 45 for my total.  Then sometime in 2015, I hope to get halfway to my goal.  :-)

I expect many new series to emerge in the future.

Okay.  Enough rambling.

Going to Better Define My Series

I’ve been debating this on and off during the year, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not a good idea to put more than a few books in any one series.  After you get beyond book 5, things start getting complicated.

What I’ll do is label books in the same “world” a “Collection” (as I have been doing on some) but I’ll divide the books that specifically link up to each other into “series” to help people find books that directly link to each other.

For example, Eye of the Beholder, His Redeeming Bride, and Isaac’s Decision really are a series within the series.  Another example is Catching Kent.  That will connect with His Convenient Wife and Jacob Larson and Adam Larson’s future romances to make for four books where we see the same characters intertwining in the books.

So I’ll be categorizing the books that span more than three or four books in a series and making them their own series.

The series that will stay in order are those that only have 3-4  books in a series already, like the South Dakota Romance Series and the Native American Romance Series.

New Ideas for Blog Posts and Branching Out to Romantic Suspense

From Thursday to Saturday, I was at the Heart of America Christian Writer’s Network annual fall conference, and it was just what I needed to refresh my enthusiasm.  This year I didn’t speak, but I did help write the workshop “Writing God’s Way” that Janet Syas Nitsick presented.  We went to the conference together and had a great time (anytime I’m with Jan, I have an awesome time), and since this was my third year going there, I saw some familiar faces and felt like I was “home” in a way.  So I got to catch up with some other writers and find out how their year had gone.

And I actually participated in some of the dissuasion in the workshops.  If you had known me when I went to college, you would know this was a huge deal for me.  I used to be the person who sat at the very back of the room and never raised my hand to say anything….and lived in dread of the time the teacher would call on me.   After last year, I decided I wouldn’t do any public speaking for a long time.  Long story short, I got so nervous, I literally got sick for almost a week.  It was rough.  But at least I can participate in a crowded setting now as a member of the audience so progress is still happening.

Anyway, I’m still a little overwhelmed by everything I need to do to get the business part of my writing in order, but taking the time to step back and go to the conference has helped a lot.  And I came away with some exciting ideas I want to try.  Here they are…

1.  Write a couple blog posts from one of my character’s point of view.

I would like to have some of my characters write some blog posts and say what they like or don’t like about their book as I’m writing it.  I can see a lot of fun in this one.  I kind of touch on this in the character interviews, but I think if I let a character take over without me or another character interrupting them, it might be a fun new angle to these posts.

Are there any characters in any of my current works in progress that you’d love to see a blog post from?  Currently, I am working on the following books:

The Earl’s Scandalous Wife: the hero is Perry (Lord Clement), the heroine is Paula, main secondary characters are Christopher (who was Perry’s ward), Nate (Perry’s friend), and Stewart (Paula’s brother).

Boaz’s Wager: the hero is Boaz (Mitch’s brother in Mitch’s Win), the heroine is Eva Conneally (from Isaac’s Decision-she was the one who wanted Isaac but he chose Emily instead), Rachel Larson (Dave and Mary Larson’s daughter and Eva’s friend), Herb (Boaz’s friend), Mitch and Heather (hero and heroine in Mitch’s Win)

The Earl’s Secret Bargain: (this one introduces a lot of new characters who were involved in the wager Agatha revealed in the Tittletattle in His Reluctant Lady): Toby (hero), Regina (heroine), Orlando (Toby’s friend), Lord Pennella (he was the one who hounded Christopher and Agatha in His Reluctant Lady).  I’m too soon into this to see who else emerges.

His Convenient Wife: Stan Craftsman (hero), Harriett Larson (heroine), Rose (Harriett’s sister), Dave and Mary Larson (the parents).  I’m not sure who else will make a prominent secondary character.

Wagon Trail Bride: Richard Larson (hero who hasn’t had a significant part in any of the Larson books up to now–LOL), Amanda (heroine), Ingrid (Richard’s love interest early on), Shirley (Amanda’s sister), Pa or Ma Larson (I don’t remember if I ever named Richard’s parents in another book but they are going to play a good role in this one), and any of Richard’s siblings (Sally, Tom, Dave, Jenny, and Joel).

2.  Take a scene out of one of my books and write it from another character’s point of view.

This is actually partly inspired by someone who sent me a Facebook message a while back. She said it’d be fun to read the same story from a different character’s point of view.  I agree it would, but I can’t fit something like that into my schedule.  What I can do, though, is take a scene and write it from another character’s point of view.

So….are there any scenes you love from any of my past books that you’d like me to write from another character’s point of view?  I’ll try to think of some good ones.  If you have any ideas, please let me know.

3.  I think I’ll write a romantic suspense novel next year.

I’ve been thinking along the lines of a thriller or horror novel for a long time, but nothing ever clicked.  Then it occurred to me.  Why don’t I make it a romantic suspense?  I have a book I started back in 2009 that will be perfect for it.  I finally have the ending in place.  Part of what held me back for so long was not knowing how to work out the serial killer aspect.  The basic plot is that a detective begins to wonder if his new wife is the killer.  Don’t worry.  There’s a happy ending.  But I am drawing a lot from my Psychology background to work in with the plot.  Finally, there is a use for my degree.

Now to come up with a good title.  One option is Marriage Can Kill, but I’m considering other titles.  I’m afraid Marriage Can Kill doesn’t say romantic suspense.  It might lean too much in the suspense category.

One of the things brought up in the conference was that it’s good for authors to branch out and write a variety of genres.  It keeps the creativity going, writing stronger, and makes a writer more well-rounded.  I have noticed that when I write a Regency, I get refreshed and can better write a historical western.  Same is true with a contemporary.  But I like to have romance as a big part in all of my stories.  The exception has been Return of the Aliens which had a minor sub-plot, but some day I might write something like that again.  But for now, I still feel a strong pull for romance.