Zetta Hunt's Blog, page 4

Pushing Forward - More Stories in the Works

It felt good to get another story out in the world. If you haven’t already read it, “The Billionaire and the Bookseller” is live on Amazon, so be sure to check it out.

Before I pushed it out into the world, I started on my next story. I’m guessing I’m about half-way through it at the time I write this. This will be one of my longest stories yet. Strange how my stories seem to get longer. Maybe one day I’ll write a full-length novel. Probably without meaning to.

The last story took me too long to get written. I’d run into a few problems with writing it.

A Bit of Process

So the last few stories, I usually noodle around with the idea and work out some things before I write the story. Sometimes this is of great help. However, I rarely look back at those notes as I’m writing.

This time, I had to look back at them a few times. Mostly because I’d work on the story for a bit, then stopped. Came back to it days or sometimes weeks later and worked on it some more.

I hit a roadblock on it. I kept trying to push forward, but I felt as though I’d made things worse instead of better. Finally, I gave up on the scene giving me issues, and jumped ahead and wrote the scene that I thought would come after that one. That is when progress picked up on it. Eventually, I went back and did another go at the scene that gave me issues, and finally the story came together.

In the past few months, I’ve decided to put more work into all of this. That’s why I’ve been more active on the blog, and hope to become even more active on here and get more stories written.

Once I finished drafting “The Billionaire and the Bookseller” I knew I should think about my next story. While I let the finished story, sit a day or two before I started editing.

I tried to approach the new story by noodling things out again. It wasn’t working. It was almost like the story didn’t want to come out. Like a small child that locked itself in the closet, that even a piece of cake with lots of frosting couldn’t lure it out.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. But, like I said, I’m putting more effort into this, so I had to figure something out, because I loved the premise of the new story.

I knew how I wanted it to open. How the hero and heroine meet, and what my setting was. Beyond that, nothing wanted to reveal itself to me. Grrr. . .

So instead of trying to force it out, I sat down and wrote the first scene. Didn’t seem so bad. So then I moved on to the next scene. Yep, it worked out great. Then I went back over what I had, thinking about how my hero and heroine were going to react to the situation they found themselves in.

Made a few changes and pushed forward again.

At one point I was cooking along, except in the back of my mind a voice said, “If you don’t stop and go back and fix a few things, this story is going to fall apart.”

So I listened to that pesky voice. It helped. Because I’m tired of stories falling apart on me.

I’m having great fun writing this story. It might be because I planned nothing before I started on it. Plus, the process I’m using is way different from how I've approached a story in the past. In the past, I’d do a short outline and some character work, then write the story. Or I’d plunge in with no plan typing as fast as I could, till I usually ended up with a hot mess that needed major surgery.

Whereas this time, I write some, then loop back, re-read what I’ve written, make some fixes, and push forward again. Plus, I outline my scenes after I write them, so I have an outline growing as I write the book. That has actually helped me to see the story grow and take shape. 

Moving Forward

I hope to keep going with all of this. I’m having loads of fun with this new story. I’m building habits of working on some aspect of all of this daily.

Right now, my plan is to write and publish more stories regularly than what I have in the past. I’ve become more trusting of the writing process and more open to embracing the uncertainty that comes with it. That has been a huge help.

Now I just need to come up with more things to write about on here, because this is also a great fun for me. Sometimes I just don’t know what to write about and worry that no one will be interested in reading it. But does it really matter? I doubt it. It’s me just being too critical. Another thing I’ve been working to get past.

With all this said, be prepared for more activity around here.

New Release - The Billionaire and the Bookseller

 Whew! At last another story. A story I'd hoped to get out last month and would of if I hadn't gotten sick. But I'm better now and at long last I pushed my story out into the world.

So here it is The Billionaire and the Bookseller is out at last!

Regina

I’m losing my job, my livelihood, and a career I loved more than anything. Yeah, my jerk of a boss is closing the bookstore I’ve managed for years. My best friend suggested I go out and have some fun.

I take her advice and go out dancing. That’s when I met him. A man I know I should stay away from, but I’m drawn to him. I leave him behind the next morning without a backward glance. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way about relationships. Except I can’t get him out of my mind. Why do I feel worse off than I did before?

Brayden

Work has been stressing me out. I took my best friend’s advice to go out, relax, and have some fun. That’s when I met her. A woman so vivacious, she makes me want to disregard my one-night rule. Only she leaves the next morning. Leaves the same way I’ve left women in the past. No name, no number, no chance of seeing each other again. Because I learned firsthand that relationships lead to ruin.

Now, I can’t get her out of my mind. The memory of her haunts me for months. Will I ever get past this? Except she was right where I’ve been working for the past three months. When I see her again, she gives me the ice-cold treatment. The same treatment I’ve given women in the past. She melted my icy heart. Now I’ll do whatever it takes to melt hers.

This is a sweet, steamy insta love short story romance with a HEA guaranteed

As always it's available from AMAZON

So be sure to check it out it's only $.99 or free in Kindle Unlimited. Enjoy!

A Delay in Progress

Hey all, I thought I would post something quick to let you know what is holding up progress since I did the cover reveal.

Sadly, I came down with some sort of illness that really knocked me down. I haven't been that sick in a long time. The good news is I'm on the mend and well enough to get back to work on things. I had thought I could work on some of it while I was sick, but my muddled mind wasn't having it.

I did get plenty of reading in while I was sick. I read a couple of thrillers while I was down, which normally isn't my thing, but both of them turned out to be great reads. One was 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins. I'd picked up a copy at the last library books sale, figured since I hadn't read it, why not? I must say it was a good choice.

The other one was 'Kill Game' by Dean Wesley Smith. Which was a heck of a fun read. It had plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing, and had a light fun ending.

Like I said, not my normal reading material, but I have started to read more mysteries and thrillers in the past couple of years. Probably because I've enjoyed reading romantic suspense from time to time. That and honestly, I'll read just about anything.

Now, I'm getting back to my own stories. I had hoped to have the next story out a couple weeks ago, but getting sick happens. Luckily it doesn't happen often with me. I do feel bad about the delay since I was making solid progress. I know it might take a little time to get back in the swing of things after this, but I'll get there. So keep checking back and I'll post more news about the upcoming release as I make progress.

 

Cover Reveal - The Billionaire and the Bookseller

I'm getting closer and closer to releasing another story. The cover is finished so I thought I would share it with you.

I don't have the blurb written, yet. But this is a one night leads to more type story. I'm hard at work at edits on this story, so with any luck I'll have it out soon. If all goes well I hope to have it out later this week or sometimes next week at the latest. I hate to say for sure, because I fear if I gave a specific date, something in my life would blow up and I wouldn't get it out in time.

This is why I have yet to do any pre-orders so far. I'm working at getting more organized so hopefully this will change in the near future.

In Other News

Speaking of getting organized, I am really working hard at that right now. I want to get several more stories written before the end of the year and I'm putting my all into this once again. So there should be much more activity going on around here.

I'm also getting together plans for the next story already. Thinking of trying to do a series again. I know I tried that before, and it seems I could only manage two books. Yeah, I know, a series usually has more than two stories in it. So I've been planning and scheming for what I want to do next. That way, when this story is done I can keep the momentum going.

Anyway, I still have lots of work to get done, so I better get to it. Stay tuned for more to come!

How About Some Fireworks This Summer

I had hoped to get a new story out last month, but obviously that didn't happen. But I'm still working on it, so my plan is to get it out this month. The story is coming along, but needs more work. Actually, I'm trying to put a plan together to get more stories written and out in the near future.

In the meantime why not check out Her Holiday Fireworks. Yes, this is me doing a shameless plug for one of my stories. Something I don't do often. But if you haven't read it already you can find it on Amazon for $.99 or free in Kindle Unlimited. So if you want a steamy read check it out. 

I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. 

WILL THEY GET FIREWORKS THIS FOURTH OF JULY OR JUST ANOTHER DUD?

Lindsey

I hated working holidays. I wanted to be out having a good time with everyone else, not serving up coffee on a hot July day. But when Gavin comes in and invites me to his place to watch the fireworks, I worry that instead of seeing sparks fly, I'll just end up with another dud.

Gavin

When I found out that Lindsey, the sexy barista at my favorite coffee shop doesn't have plans for the evening, I waste no time inviting her to watch the fireworks with me. I plan on showing her how to make real sparks fly, and not just for this holiday, but for all of them.

If you're looking for a big hot dog and some fireworks this Fourth of July, then this story is for you! This is a short steamy summer holiday story with a sweet little HEA. Get ready to find a way to cool off after this one!

Available from AMAZON

Sitting Down and Getting it Done

 

I’m happy to report I’m well underway on a new story. It took me long enough. I tried to get one out before this, but things just didn’t work out that way.

I knew if I didn’t get down to work on something, before long, another year (or two) would pass with nothing published. I didn’t want that to happen again.

The problem lies in my process. I often tangle myself up trying to figure out the best way to approach a story. There are times I want to do a full outline of a story, other times I just want to dive in and see where I end up. More often than not, I start out strong with either approach, then somehow problems set in. Before I know it, I’m abandoning whatever it was I was working on and moving on to something else.

It becomes an endless cycle.

The only way I break out of this is to make myself sit down and dig in with determination.

That’s where I’m at right now. Usually, it’s a middle road I end up traveling on. I do some back story on my characters, then write up a very brief, simple outline, then write the story till it’s done. So I’m not really doing a full outline, but I’m not diving in blind either. Maybe this is my clue?

Like most writers, I want to write a great story. One that grabs on to people and won’t let them go. You know the kind I’m talking about. I’ve read them, as I’m sure you have to.

That’s why I try to outline. I think that way I’ll have everything laid out before me, and I can add in all the extra good stuff that really makes a story shine as I write it.

It’s also why I don’t outline sometimes. Often writing a story with no idea where I’m going, making it up as I go along sometimes produces something far greater than I could have ever come up with ahead of time.

I think of the end product, when I should concentrate on the process instead. It is the process where the long-haul work is done. If I’m not enjoying the process, then how can I expect someone to enjoy the product that comes from it?

In the end, no one cares how I created the end product. I could create something that I feel is the greatest masterpiece of all time, and still there would be someone out there that thinks it’s total shit. That’s the way it goes with art. No matter what kind of art it is.

I know all of this, but more often than not, I forget all of this.

No matter the process, there are often bumps in the road. It’s supposed to be that way. Another thing I keep reminding myself. What it really comes down to is whether or not I’m enjoying the process I’m using.

Usually, once I’m deep into a story, all of this goes away. I’m rooted in that story, and want to see it through to the end. When that happens, I’m almost certain to finish something at last.

That is where I’m at with this story. But to get there, I just had to sit down, trust the process and not worry too much about the product. Because regardless, some will love it, others will hate it. That’s just the way it goes.

So, with reminding myself of all of this, I’m hard at work again on a story that I’m confident I’ll finish. It should be out sometime this month. As always, I’m not making promises, but right now it feels good to be writing and more importantly, I’m having fun.

The Art of NOT Being so Darn Lazy

 

Sometimes I’m lazy. I’d like to think it happens to us all. Maybe it’s human nature, or maybe sometimes I just can’t be bothered.

This is something I’ve been thinking about recently in my quest to be more productive and to get my writing career back on track. I realize that there are many times when being lazy is NOT at all justifiable. Go figure. Although, sometimes it is, just ask any cat, but I digress.

Lately I’ve been exploring different themes for this humble site of mine. I found several that were nice, but there was a problem. Most of the ones I tried needed a picture in the post. Otherwise, a gawd awful ugly photo placeholder with an even uglier camera image is inserted when no photo is present.

The description of one theme I looked at even said, requirements:

At least one image per post
At least one label per post

Really? Well, that’s asking a lot. Especially when you’re feeling like a lazy slug.

But then it got me to thinking, is putting a photo in every post such a big deal? I have a few posts I wrote on the fly that do not have photos. If you’ve been following along, you already know that.

Blogging experts say to put a photo in your posts because those posts draw more readers than the posts without photos. As I look at my stats on this site (who knows how accurate they are) that doesn’t seem to hold true. Some posts with photos have the lowest reads, while a couple of posts with no photos have the most. Whether a photo draws readers could be up for debate. But I guess that’s not the point here.

Cruising the stock photos sites to find pictures for my posts doesn’t take long, few minutes, sometimes longer, it all depends on what I’m looking for. Sometimes, it’s fun. Pictures do make the site look better, and if they draw in readers like the experts say, then it’s a win.

Putting labels on posts only takes seconds. However, I often forget to do that. I honestly don’t know why. It isn’t till after it’s published, sometimes for several weeks, that I see I forgot to label a post.

After thinking about all of this, I realized that finding a photo for a post isn't work. Adding in links to previous posts isn’t hard either, it just takes a little time. Labeling posts is super easy. To simply not do any of this, I realized, is just plain laziness.

I don’t want to be lazy.

Maintaining this site isn’t work. It’s fun. So why on earth am I being lazy about something that is fun? That is the question I pondered. And if I’m being lazy about things I find fun, what else am I being lazy about?

A lot of this has come about because I am attempting to be more productive in life. In the past couple of months, I’ve read some self-help books to help give me a gentle push forward on a road to what I hope is a better life.

Even those books basically say that with little effort, the things you want to achieve can be done. It’s a matter of resolving to do them. And that seems to be the secret of the universe, to be honest. Just take the time to do the things you want and/or need to get done.

How often have we put off a task because we didn’t want to do it? Or we thought it was going to be hard? When we finally set off to do it, more than likely, it turned out not to be such a big deal after all. In fact, after the task is complete, a sense of accomplishment sets in and we wonder why we put it off.

Sadly, this is all too easy to forget in the course of our hectic lives. It is something I’ve been trying to remember. Which is why I’ve been more active on here lately. This is my little space on the web. I enjoy it, so why not put the effort into this site that it deserves?

Maybe if I put more effort into this, that will give me the push I need to put more effort into other parts of my life.

While I want to make a few more design changes on here, right now I feel some general housekeeping might be better instead. Maybe insert some pictures with the past posts that don’t have them? Make sure everything is labeled properly, etc.

Most importantly, I’ll keep writing and keep posting. Already, with only writing a couple posts these past few days, I’ve noticed a change for the better. And I’ve not been feeling as lazy as before. My cats, however, are a lost cause and will continue to be lazy. Because that’s what cats do.

As for the design changes to this site - I’ve realized that’s just another form of laziness. It’s me procrastinating instead of doing what really needs done, the writing.

We learn and grow as we go along, but only if we are not - you guess it - being so darn lazy. Who knows, this little effort might bring about big results one day. If it does, I will write a properly labeled blog about it, with a nice picture to draw your interest.  

Sliding Back into Old Habits. . . Again

Old habits die hard, says the old cliche. Like most cliches, there is always truth in it.

This last winter I did pretty good. I started blogging again; I wrote and released a new short romance story. At last! I’m on track. . . until I wasn’t.

The writing began not to go well, again. I decided that if I updated the look and feel of this blog, it would spur me into action. Now it is April and my last post was in January. Obviously, it didn’t work out too well for me.

Day by day, I realized I was slipping back down into the old habits I so desperately wanted to get away from. Old habits die hard.

Trying to pull myself back up, I visited this site. The design changes had seemed elegant and refined at the time I did them. Before I finished all of it, I wondered on to other things. The poor blog forgotten, again. Now the design seems cold, almost dark somehow, mostly lifeless. Maybe I should do some more changes? Or is this me procrastinating again? Maybe. Or maybe it’s me trying to rekindle my interest in all of this?

I lose focus. It happens. When I lose focus, my mind and and focus wonders on to other things. Should I scrap this pen name and start over? Should I try writing short erotica instead? Maybe it would be easier? Or am I trying to take the easy route far too often?

All these questions swirled through my mind. In the meantime, I got lost in life stuff. My cell phone was on its last leg and I urgently needed a new one and spent far too much time shopping for one. Then there were multiple vet visits, an eye doctor appointment, and other everyday things to deal with.

During this time, I read more fiction. Through reading, I found some focus again. As I did, I thought about this blog and my writing. As I surveyed the design again, I read my last few posts.

Once again, through reading, my focus became sharper, only this time it was my own words being flung back at me that did it. In my December 29th post, my words hit me hard. Some of that stuff I’d forgotten. Re-reading that post brought it all back to me when I needed it the most.

Then I thought, “Gee, I’m sure glad I wrote some of these blog posts, if nothing else, to remind me of where I want to go.”

In the December 7th post, I mentioned that if I was having trouble working on a story, I’d write a blog post instead. Often that got me back into the swing of writing fiction.

Something that I needed to remind myself. . . again.

There was also that nagging fear. The fear that if I didn’t do something soon, another year would go by. I’d wonder where it’d gone and why I didn’t achieve the things I wanted to.

I knew the only way to get to where I want to go was to get back to things. Get back to writing blog posts, because they often ignite my enthusiasm for writing fiction. Often I never know what to write, but sometimes if I sit down and just write, something come to me. Funny how that works.

To echo my previous post, if you visit and things look wonky, it’s because I’m changing the design up once again. Writing this post has renewed my vigor for the things I enjoy, but put off far too often. I will try to be more active on here, as it helps me in more ways than I realize. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find some amusement as well.

Upcoming Site Changes

This is just a quick post to let you know I'm making progress on another story. Sadly the progress has been slower than I would have liked. Mostly life stuff getting in the way. I'm hoping to get this next story out either by the end of the month or the beginning of February. This time I'll try and give notice before it comes out, instead of like last time and posting, 'oh by the way, here's a story.'

In other news, I'll be making design changes to this site. In fact, I may have already started on them by the time you read this.

If you've been following along with some of my older posts, then you might recall that I've considered making some design changes to this site some time ago. I plan on starting on those this week. So if you happen by and things look a little wonky, that is why.

I've thought of changing platforms, but honestly, I don't really have a real reason to do so. I use Blogger for this site, and I have fun with it and it's easy for me to maintain. I've learned that the fun factor means a lot these days. Tweaking the themes has become a obsession hobby that I really enjoy.

However, this is not to say I won't change platforms in the future. Right now, I'm more focused on writing stories and playing around with this site.
 Also, I want to try to promote my work more. So I think I've found a way to do that on this site without it being too intrusive. After all that is just one of the many things this site is for.
 Another thing on the to-do list for the site, is to set up a subscription to receive blog post by email, if that's your thing. This service used to be handled by Feedburner, which ended their email service last year. While I didn't have many subscribers, I still thought I'd find a service and put it up there just in case someone wanted to follow this site in that way.
 I have no interest in starting an email newsletter at this time. Or if at all. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is, I can't think what I'd put in a newsletter that I wouldn't post here on the blog. The other thing is, anyone can access what I write on this blog, with a newsletter, only subscribers can read it. So it seems rather pointless to me. Although, there are authors who swear by this, and if that works for them, great. But subscribing to my posts by email would be about the same experience.

I'll be working on all of this little by little over the course of the next week or so. I'm sure there are other things that I'll be changing as well, but this is what I'm focused on right now, while also working on the next story.

Moving Forward to 2023

Can you believe it’s almost 2023? I can’t. For those who celebrate Christmas, I hope it was a good one. I know for many here in the U.S. it wasn’t that great because of the frigid weather we had. Lucky for me, I had a nice warm blanket and a few cats to keep me warm.

Now, the New Year is upon us. I often like to take the week between Christmas and New Year to come up with goals for the year. Sometimes I start out strong in January, hoping to make the best of the year, sometimes not. By February, I’ve slacked off. Come March, I wonder where I went wrong.

This year, my life is in total chaos. It started a little over two months ago. Even though I’m a private person, I may write about some of what is going on in my personal life in future posts. Mainly because it might help others. But for now, I’m in a place where I wonder what’s the point in trying to set goals for the coming year when so much is uncertain in my life right now?

Except, reviving this blog and writing a new story has really helped me. It takes my mind off of everything else that is going on, and it has reduced my stress a great deal.

Then I think, I never seem to follow through with the goals I set for the coming year, so what does it matter if I take the time to set some or not? Yet, I realized I needed something to focus on for my own sake.

The late great Ray Bradbury said that if you write every day, it keeps life from poisoning you. That’s not an exact quote, but round about what he said. These past couple of months, I’ve found out what he meant by that.

There have been days I couldn’t write because of doctor appointments for a family member and other responsibilities that have been piled on me recently. For a time, the stress started to consume me to where it was affecting my own health. That is when I got back to the story I was working on, or wrote up a blog post. I didn't want to do those things because of how stressed I was. I didn't know if I could do them because of the stress. But I sat down and tried anyway. My mind became so focused on that, that everything else faded away. The stress levels came down.

So regardless of everything going on in my life, I’ve decided that it might be more important than ever to set those 2023 goals, that I may forget about come February. I can’t let my own life go down the drain because of all the other circumstances I’m enduring right now. Yes, it’s hard, but surprisingly not as hard as I thought it would be.

I have another new story started that I like. I want to make a few design changes to this site. I really should do a better author bio, among other things. I want to blog more often, maybe do a challenge of a blog post a day? But I know in my current situation that might be unreasonable, so maybe twice a week? I’m not sure. But it would be a fun challenge to help keep me sane.

The point is, I need a North Star to keep me from losing myself in all the other life stuff happening to me right now. No one knows what the future will bring. I honestly think that’s for the best. But we can point ourselves in a direction at the very least. There will be detours along the way that will cause us to change course often. In the end, it’s never about the destination as much as the journey to get there.

So I guess I’ll be making those 2023 goals after all.