Meredith Hart's Blog, page 6

Book Boxes!

Thank you so much to everyone who filled out the form for a chance to win a paperback with a retired cover!

I had a lot of fun looking through the reviews and packing the books for my winners.

What book is it..? Only the winner knows!

And, thanks to you, I’m now completely out of old paperbacks. Thanks for helping me clean out my bookshelves!

I do have a few Samantha MacLeod titles kicking around. So, if you’d like to win a book from my paranormal romance pen name, I’ll keep the form open with just that option – click here to see it.

Stay tuned, because I’d love to do something like this again!

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Save the Date

My first ever in-person author event!!!

Yes, I’ll be signing books and doing whatever else it is authors do in a bookstore (browsing, perhaps?) on October 19!

I’ve been wanting to check out Grump and Sunshine since they opened, and this is the perfect reason to make the trek. I’ll be there at 11, along with a few of my friends from the Maine Romance Writers (including Danielle Bannister).

So, if you’ve been looking for an excuse to see spectacular fall foliage, support a romance-centered bookstore, and meet me (!!) – then I’ll see you in Belfast, my friend!

Fall Cleaning Time!

I’m gearing up to order a bunch of shiny new paperbacks – with my shiny new covers – so I can do a few in-person events this fall.

But what am I going to do with all these old paperbacks kicking around in their old covers?

I mean, it’s no surprise that I have a book-hoarding problem, right?

Turns out, I have a huge box filled with books that have covers I no longer use and titles I changed years ago. For example, the book in the picture, In the Shadows of the Citadel, is now known by the much catchier title Shadows and Secrets.

So, what’s a book dragon to do with all these, uh, Limited Editions? I can’t just… throw them away.

Nope. I’m going to give them away – to you!

To keep things fair, I’ll select the winners randomly from readers who have reviewed at least one of my books. To enter, just share a link to a review you’ve written, tell me what series you’d like, and share your email.

Click below to check it out!

Click here to win a book

When is the next book coming out?!?

Well, to quote the supercomputer Deep Thought, who was tasked with finding the answer to life, the universe, and everything in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy…. I’ve got the answer, but you’re not going to like it.

It’s 42

No, I’m kidding. That’s the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

Before I get to the other answer about when then next book comes out, let me explain a few things. Here, have a seat by the fire, because this might take a while.

So, I’ve never done much for my book releases. I write the book, hire someone to do the cover, put it up for preorder if I’m especially organized, and then email the lovely people on my newsletter list when it comes out. I used to run ads, but they stressed me out so much that I stopped.

That’s what some authors call a soft release. It’s what I’ve been doing since I published my first book in 2016. And it’s worked fine.

But here’s the thing.

I’ve been making money off these books.

Crazy, huh? All my life people, told me there’s no money in writing, and yet here I am, paying the mortgage every single month with cold, hard cash people pay me to read about imaginary adventures I made up while sitting on my couch in my pajamas.

Making money has me thinking about the business aspect of this whole writing thing. As in, perhaps I should put some of that money back into my business.

But where should it go? I can only buy so many covers, and I don’t want to go back to checking spreadsheets five times a day to track my ad spending.

Maybe you see where this is going.

After a lot of freaking out and a bit of thinking, I’ve decided to reinvest in my business by making my next release hard, not soft. So, buckle up, buttercup, because I’m going off the deep end.

New cover designer. Character art. Book boxes. Promotion company.

This is so far out of my comfort zone I might need a new zip code and a Xanax prescription.

Of course, money alone isn’t enough to pull all this off. A hard release also takes time. Which is where the answer comes in.

My next books comes out…

THIS WINTER

It’s winter, my friends. Maybe December, maybe January, but not any earlier.

I know. Winter is a long way off. I’ve never gone this long between book releases, so if this feels like a long time to wait for you – trust me, it feels even longer for me.

Like a lot of things in publishing, this release strategy is a gamble. I’ll have a lot of time to make my next book, Monster of the Dagger Mountains, as good as it can possibly be. I’ll do everything I can to make the release as epic as possible.

And then I’ll send it out into the universe and hope for the best. In that way, at least, it will be a normal book release.

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Reader Question about Characters

Question: How do you find your characters? 

Answer: The short answer is – they find me!

In fact, it’s usually the characters who kick the door down and start insisting I write their damn story. That’s what happened with Loki in Trickster’s Lover, Lyria in Flame and Blade, and Rowan in Heart’s Escape. They just showed up.

And sometimes a character doesn’t turn out like I expect. I didn’t think Doshir was going to be such a nice guy when I started writing the Deceptions & Dragons series, and I absolutely didn’t mean to make Heart’s Escape a slow-burn.

Because I’m a pantser, or a discover writer, I get to know the characters as I write the story. Often, I’m halfway through the book (or more) by the time I really understand why they’re doing the things they’re doing. For example, Gaul was a mystery to me until the last book of the Flame & Blade series.

Once I get to know them, of course, I start revising the book — and I try to make it sound like I knew what I was doing all along!

Thanks for asking!

Got a question? Click here to ask it!

I have to share this!

Reviews make my day! And this one is just too good to keep to myself.

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Tabitha reviewed Heart’s Rescue on Goodreads. This is what she had to say:

“The dialogue in this book, the banter—chef’s kiss!!! It’s not even advertised as a comedy, but the characters are SO funny. Sarcastic and yet genuine at the same time. The MMC is kind of a mess, but he’s OUR mess, and it feels so good to see him get his happily ever after. The FMC’s backstory means she could’ve easily fallen into a sort of lame “rebel princess” role which I would’ve hated, but instead we get a fascinating character who is dealing with the much-more-relatable issue of not fitting into the role that was laid out for her, in spite of her best efforts, and the feelings of rejection and “why am I like this” and “am I the only one who feels this way?”

Suffice to say, the characters are great, the dialogue is fantastic, the plot contained some interesting mysteries without being too dense or decentering the romance, and the ending gives the MCs their HEA and leaves a clear path forward for the rest of the series without feeling like a cliffhanger.”

Click here to read the review on GoodReads

Wild Strawberries and *that* F&B Scene

The wild strawberries are going nuts in the woods behind my house this year.

Of course, every time I see one of these little beauties, I think about *that one scene* in Flame and Blade. You know, that scene.

I love that scene. Almost as much as I love wild strawberries.

In fact, I think I’ll share it with you now…

Flame & Blade Sneak Peek

A flash of red on the ground caught my eye. I bent down to examine the mat of little plants covering this hillside and found serrated, trilobed leaves. Yes. Wild strawberries. This hillside must face south; strawberries would thrive here.

I glanced to Lyria, who had just started tugging Theo the donkey up the last pitch. As she vanished over the horizon, I picked as many of the sweet little fruits as I could reach, filling my open palm. When I crested the hill several minutes later, Lyria was waiting for me with one of her usual scowls.

“What took you so long?” she demanded.

“Close your eyes,” I answered, with a grin. “And open your mouth.”

Her scowl deepened. “What, are we four years old now?”

“I have something for you. You’ll like it, I promise.”

She wiped a hand across her forehead and rolled her eyes. The rain picked up, hammering down the leaf-laden branches above us. 

“Vethe—”

“Come on,” I said. “Trust me.”

Her hand dropped to the dagger in her belt. I took a step backward.

“Or, don’t,” I said. “And spend the rest of your life wondering what I was going to do.”

Lyria stomped her heel in the mud, a habit I strongly suspected she’d picked up from Theo. “Oh, fine.”

After another enormous eye roll, followed by an expression of utmost disdain, Lyria closed her eyes. Her soft, full lips parted. My insides twisted with a strange, sharp, and almost pleasant rush of longing. I slipped my fingertips between her lips and placed the largest of the wild strawberries on her waiting tongue.

Her eyes opened, and her lips closed. I watched as she fought the smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

“Oh,” she finally said.

I opened my palm, revealing the handful of ruby fruits I’d hastily gathered from the hillside. A shadow crossed her face.

“Are those poisonous?”

I slipped one between my own lips. “Very.”

“Ha. Ha,” she said, carefully enunciating the syllables so I’d miss none of the sarcasm.

“They’re wild strawberries,” I offered.

She leaned closer, frowning. “Those are strawberries? They’re so tiny.”

“Wild strawberries. About a quarter of the size of the other kind, with ten times the flavor.”

Delicately, she took one from my hand. Her fingers brushed my skin, sending another current of energy through my body. She pressed the fruit between her lips and, for just a moment, I had a fierce desire to be a strawberry. Her mouth closed. She looked almost meditative as she chewed the tiny berry.

“Wow,” she finally said. “They’re good. Why are they so different?”

The scowl had vanished; now, she was looking at me with an expression of open friendliness that made my chest ache. It reminded me of when we’d shared the Mage Fire, or when she’d spread the liniment over my chest. The expression burned me, but I didn’t want to look away.

“Wild things are usually sweeter,” I said, my voice dropping. “Don’t you think?”

Click here for Flame & Blade

Reader Question about Vethe

!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

If you haven’t finished the Flame and Blade series, TURN AROUND AND SHOW YOURSELF THE DOOR!

This reader question involves massive spoilers for the last book in the F&B series. Finish the series first, then come back here.

You’ve been warned!

The question: I’ve always wondered what made Vethe’s cure work. I don’t think it was confirmed in the books, but I could be wrong. I’ve theorized that the summoned demon sympathized with Vethe because he sacrificed himself to save someone he loved and not for the power. Could I be correct? Or was it really just the alcohol?

The answer:

*Pours self cup of tea*

*Sits down on the front porch*

*Pats the bench next to me, inviting you to come on in*

You know, writing’s a funny thing. Some writers, like Tolkien, know absolutely everything about their world. Tolkien invented multiple languages for his world, including new alphabets. Have you seen the appendix at the end of The Return of the King? That dude has dwarven genealogy for days.

I am not that kind of writer.

I’m a pantser, or a discovery writer. For me, as Stephen King put it, writing is like driving at night in heavy fog. I can see what’s just ahead of me, and I have a vague sense of where I’m going, but that big plot twist is frequently just as surprising to me as it is to you.

This is true of bigger questions about my books too. I’m trying to be more deliberate with things like theme, but usually, I don’t really know what a book is about until it’s written (and, sometimes, it’s only years later that I’ll make the connection between, say, the fact that so many of my characters have scars and the huge scar I’ve had on my back since I was a kid).

So this question really made me think!

When I wrote the F&B books, I didn’t question Henrix’s explanation for Vethe’s mage fever cure. Henrix thought Vethe survived the demon blood transfer because Vethe was such a heavy drinker, just like Henrix used to be. Vethe thought that was a good enough explanation, and boom, it was on to the next adventure.

But I’ve been spending a week or so thinking this over, and here’s the thing. Henrix and Vethe have no idea why the cure worked, and they also tend to undervalue their own self-worth. It would never occur to either of them that the demons would have willingly helped to save their lives.

But I think they’re wrong.

Both of them sacrificed themselves to save someone they loved (for Henrix it was Hylene, for Vethe it was Lyria). They weren’t thinking about gaining power or fame, like the other assholes Henrix and Hylene tried to save. They weren’t thinking about themselves at all.

And that intention mattered. The demons share a collective consciousness, so they’re able to sense the intentions of the wildmages dying from mage fever. If the intentions were power, fame, and conquest, well, the demon blood wouldn’t want any part of that. But sacrifice, community, and love? That’s a language the demons can understand.

So, yes, you’re right!

Thanks so much for asking! It was fun to revisit this series and to think a little more about it.

Got a question for me? Click here to ask it!

Meet the Characters: Doshir

Writing Doshir was such an adventure.

Most of my male leads tend to be hard-drinking, sarcastic assholes who’d be the first to admit they’ve made a hot mess of their lives. (see: Vethe, Loki, Rowan)

Not Doshir.

This dragon shifter is perfectly content with his life, his antiquities shop, and his near-total social isolation, thank you very much. He’s not looking for adventure, and he’s certainly not looking for romance.

But maybe he’ll share just one bottle of frost wine with the woman who shows up on his doorstep and starts asking questions about dragons…

The complete Deceptions & Dragons series is coming out this summer, but you don’t need to wait to meet Doshir! His series is finished, so feel free to binge-read this epic story about a cinnamon roll dragon and the woman sent to kill him…

Click here for Deceptions & Dragons

Coming This Summer!

This steamy, complete trilogy about a dragon hunter searching for her quarry and the handsome, bookish dragon she accidentally seduces is impossible to put down!

Have a few reading boxes you’d like to check..?

Fantasy Romance Snarky, sarcastic humor Bad-ass woman warrior Nerdy cinnamon bun dragon Antiquities shop Secret missions with secret identities Flirting for information “I never do this… but I’ll make an exception for you…” Wine dates Bad choices Dragons playing with fire ”Tonight I can be dangerous.”

The complete Deceptions and Dragons series is coming out this summer as a box set!

Stay tuned for more updates…

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