Loretta Marchize's Blog, page 2

Cover Dump

Hi guys! I wanted to share some covers I’ve been designing lately. I’ve been playing around with different programs and trying to expand my graphic design skills with tutorials and practice, so hopefully, I’ve improved!

I’m excited to share all of my hard work, starting with this full cover I’ve titled Finding Hope. I love the color scheme on this one, and I’m particularly fond of the font. It was inspired by the image of the girl, and would be perfect for a historical-themed romance novel.

Next, I have Tweet Cute a remake of this book’s cover. I wanted to try a new style and was inspired after reading Tweet Cute earlier this year. I’m still figuring out how to work with this type of cover, but for a first try, it isn’t bad.

You might recognize the cover for The Runaway Princess, which I released February 11th. I still think it’s some of my best work, and I’m really proud of how the paperback copy turned out too.

This is a personal favorite that I made for a WIP of mine. I haven’t gotten past the brainstorming part yet, and maybe never will, but I love the cover I dreamed up!

This cover is called Love Slowly. You might recognize it from my post last month sharing a free novella I wrote. I like the orange in this one, as it isn’t a color I would usually use. I also made use of a subtitle, which isn’t something I always do, especially with my own novels.

I do still have some pre-made covers back from when I tried selling book covers- before I realized I wasn’t cut out for that! This cover, Once Upon A Star, is one of those. I actually have a book idea for the cover, but we’ll see if I get around to writing it.

That’s all I have today! I do have a few more covers that I wish I could share with you but can’t because they are prototypes (of a sort) for books I plan on releasing in the future. Wouldn’t want to give you any spoilers for my plans!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

How I Get Into The Writing Mindset

Hi guys! Today I’m going to be talking a little bit about how I gear up my brain for writing and get ready to write. For me, if I want to get a lot of words written I have to be ready to write.

The first thing I always do is re-read the last chapter that I wrote, or sometimes the last two chapters to re-orientate myself with the characters. If it’s been a while since I wrote I’ll read a little more than a chapter. I have to be really careful here not to get sucked into my own writing!

I’ve always been a list-maker a planner and a plotter. I have a binder full of notes, and I always make sure to flip through those before I begin, specifically my writing plan which I talked more about in my planning series (link).

For me, noise has never bothered me. Growing up with only access to a living room desktop and having two younger siblings, I’ve learned to write in the thick of things. Still, it’s easier to stay on track and pound out words when I’m in a quiet space. Clearing my desk- both physically and my Chromebook tabs- helps me stay on track and not get quite as distracted.

Ironically, I write more words when I don’t have the wifi on. I suspect it’s because I’m forced to focus- no Pinterest distractions here! It also helps to tuck away my phone/mute it. When I’m writing in a public place (such as the school or coffee shop) I play some music. For me, it’s always classical or I’ll get distracted by the words.

I hope that at least one of these tips was helpful for you and that you got something out of it! Don’t be afraid to ask questions in the comments, I’m always here to help. Next week I’m going to share a cover dump and talk a bit about graphic design!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

Fan Art + Memes

Hey everyone! I’m back from spring break with some The Runaway Princess themed news!

The first thing I’m going to share is this absolutely stunning fan art of Queen Abigail Villn, a POV character from The Runaway Princess.

I just love this art. All credit goes to Lee Welsby, and you can find her on instagram. She also did a beautiful one of Ivory Villn, another POV character.

Lee totally captured both characters exactly how I imagined them! There’s another one of Ivory, by Cloee McNiel. You can find all this art on pinterest too.

I’ve shared a few memes before from The Runaway Princess, but I’m going to share a few more now!

I also have this one which is one of my favorite because Celeste is another POV character.

I hope you enjoyed what I’ve shared today, and next week you can look for a post about getting into the writing mindset!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

A Current Work-In-Progress

Hello! Today I’m sharing the entirety of a novella I wrote for my email list. I’m actually discontinuing my email list and so I’m going to share the novella I’ve been giving out in monthly installments as a gift to all of you.

I’ve been feeling sort of reflective lately, and I know parts of my life are coming to a close as I near my eighteenth birthday. So this is a bit of a gift to all of my faithful followers, those who have been with me since 2017 and those who I’ve just met recently.

Without you, none of this would have ever happend.

So thanks. And here you go:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19AiNtIlO-QuDIJuiWke9iIHTRSFOfPP4mzuy9dayyzI/edit?usp=sharing

And there won’t be a post next week because it’s spring break at my high school! So I’ll see you in two weeks!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

Writing Relationships

Today I’m going to talk about writing relationships as a fantasy/romance author. I’ll also briefly mention writing Christianity with fantasy as well, but there’s a really good post on Kingdom Pen if you want to read more.

The first thing I’m going to talk about is how I personally write romantic relationships, having never been in one myself. A lot of what I do know comes from extensive reading on the subject and being an avid romance reader gives me some insight into how authors choose to portray things.

One of the biggest things for me was to base relationships in my books off people I knew in real life. It allowed me to play with the chemistry of characters and gave me a starting point. The first real romance I ever wrote was called Celine, and is still hanging around on my blog somewhere. I’ve improved a lot since then, but it was a great starting point!

I found that practice really did make perfect for me. At this point in my life I’ve still never been in a serious relationship, but I’ve written, read, and observed so many that I’ve learned a lot.

Some authors like to use MBTI or other personality types to figure out how their characters will interact with each other, and it is a great starting point. I always start with MBTI and see what the types are most likely to agree v. disagree on. I find this is a really good resource too if you’re stuck, especially if you put out a question asking people of the same type to help!

It’s also a good idea to write down your character’s values in life. Often for me I write down what their relationship with Christ is like and how that factors into the romance bit. This is a bit trickier to figure out in the fantasy setting, but still very important.

If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask me in the comments! I’d love to help you.

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

Writing Inspiration

It’s been a while since I’ve shared any writing prompts/pinterest stuff involving writing, so I figured I’d share some recent posts I’ve found! All credits to pinterest and the creators there, and all posts can be found on my writing board: which I share with my friend.

The first thing is a few writing prompts that I’ve been side-eyeing lately, but haven’t gotten to writing because I have other projects going on.

All of these prompts send my mind spinning, so hopefully you’re inspired by them too! And let me know in the comments if you write with one of them, I’d love to read it!

My favorite part of writing is hands-down character images. I love finding pictures and art that inspire me! A lot of these are probably from specific fandoms, but it’s all just inspiration so it’s never bothered me. And I don’t have a lot of guys, because I mainly write female POVs so…

And that’s about it for today! I also have some specific pinterest boards for my actual works: everything except Princess Chronicles. The Princess Chronicles series has it’s own board with sections for each book, because I spend way too much time on pinterest!

Anyway, I hope some of you enjoyed this and let me know in the comments where you get your inspiration!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

Eubeltic Realm: Review

This week I had the pleasure of reading two really good books! They were both part of the Eubeltic Realms series by Nadine Keels. The first is Eubeltic Descent and the second is Eubeltic Quest. I’ve read some of Nadine’s work before, and I’ve absolutely loved it, but this series was even better!

Five stars

Prose: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5

Prose:

I’ve read Nadine’s work before, but I absolutely love her writing. Her world is very rich and the culture is one of my favorite parts.

Romance:

AHHHHH. Definitely a slow burn, and probably two of the most shippable characters I’ve ever seen! I can’t say too much because it’s over several books and spoilers but I will say that even the side characters I shipped.

Characters:

This book was really interesting to me, because one of the main features is the use of sign language, and features several deaf characters. I thought Nadine handled this very well, and she was very brave to make that choice! As a writer, a deaf character is a very daunting prospect!

Plot:

Also very good! I was impressed with her ability to continue the plot over the two books, and I’m looking forward to the next book!

Overall:

I absolutely loved both of these books, and I’m thrilled that I got the opportunity to read them!

Content:

Falling in love, mentions of kissing not described in detail. Mentions of danger and explosions.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

At Her Fingertips: Cover Reveal

This week Kellyn Roth is revealing the cover for her newest novel, and it is beautiful!!

The cover was first revealed yesterday on Kellyn’s Instagram, and let me tell you, it’s definitely my favorite so far!

Isn’t that just beautiful??? I love the pink theme, and her dress! You can pre-order the book here:

Next week I’ll be sharing a review of author Nadine Keel’s novels, so look for that! Remember, if you want me to review your novel (on Goodreads and my blog), you can sign up here!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

Redeemed By Love: Review

I read this novel a few weeks ago and I’m excited to share it with you!

4 Starsprose: 4/5 Romance: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4/5 Prose:

I didn’t particularly care for the prose in this novel, but it wasn’t bad either. Part of it was just because of grammar/formatting things that I chose to do differently/prefer done differently. Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal/distracting.

Romance:

I loved the dynamic between both the married couple and the unmarried couple who weren’t a couple yet. I’m not going to say too much because a big part of the story is the love between the married couple!

Characters:

This is definitely Ms. McLain’s strong suit! The characters just came alive for me and I absolutely loved their personalities!

Plot:

This was probably my least favorite part of the novel. If you don’t like character-driven novels and you prefer plot-orientated then this isn’t for you because the plot was a little weak. Some parts of the novel felt forced and like they were thrown in just for excitement.

Overall:

It was a good read, I read it really quickly, and I did enjoy it! It’s not my favorite novel ever, but I did really enjoy it and I do recommend it!

Content:

Mentions of being a female slave/mentions of leaving your husband for another man, of cheating in a marriage. Everything was really well-handled though.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 

Remember, if you want me to review your novel (on Goodreads and my blog), you can sign up here!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!

Day Six: Giveaway Winner!

It’s the last day of my celebration guys!

The novel is now on Amazon as both an ebook and a paperback! Find it here it’s available for $0.99 for a short time, so buy it while it’s cheap! The paperback is also on a release sale for $9.99, here.

The giveaway closed this morning and I’m happy to announce the winner as Penny! I’ve already sent out the emails and will be mailing out the paperback soon.

In other words, it’s time to introduce you guys to my next projects!

In the next few weeks on my blog you can expect a series of reviews from me, as I’m diving into my TBR pile and reviewing a few novels for some writing friends. I’m excited to share all of them with you!

On my Instagram you can expect a variety of posts, and I’ll be sharing more about bullet journaling and organization too, so you can join the fun over there.

Writing-wise I’m working on The Princess Chronicles book #2! I’m also working on a prequel, but you’ll have to wait to find out more about that!

As always, remember to like, comment, or share, whatever floats your boat! Until next time!