Zetta Hunt's Blog, page 5

A New Story at Long Last: New Release - Finding Beauty

 I know, about time, huh? I've had a lot going on in my life lately, stuff that may become the subject of upcoming posts. Through it all, I managed to finish a story at last.

This one is a reverse Beauty and the Beast story. Where it's the heroine who thinks she's the beast.

So I present - Finding Beauty

A handsome billionaire who doesn’t do relationships. A scarred women who knows a man like him is not for her.

I buy failing businesses, turn them around, sell them for a profit. It’s what I do. Except, for one. One company I’ve held onto the longest, because of Amanda. How did a sexy computer nerd get to me? I don’t do relationships. Been there, done that.

Amanda thinks she’s anything but beautiful because of her scarred face. She’s wrong. I want to show her how wrong she is, but being with her makes me long for things I’ve sworn off. She thinks I’m the beauty and she’s the beast. Can I prove her wrong and still keep from falling for her?

Finding Beauty is a stand alone short story romance. If you like it short, sweet and steamy, this story is for you.

Finding Beauty is available at AMAZON

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

 

I’ve got a rough draft of a new story finished. Now comes the fun part of trying to make it better. And it is fun, or at least I think it is.

I’m also getting back to posting here regularly. I enjoy writing these posts. Don’t know if they're actually interesting others, but it’s out there just in case someone somewhere wants to read all my ramblings.

Some days I think about challenging myself and see if I could post daily for a set length of time. Although I’m not sure if I could find that much to say. I guess I won’t know till I try, but for now, I’m more about finding focus.

There are many reasons I’ve suddenly reappeared after some time away. One thing is I live with and take care of an elderly family member at the moment. That has become stress city in the past few months. Writing helps soothe that stress away. At least for a short time.

The other thing is I enjoy doing this, even though I feel like I’m struggling with everything. Sometimes I struggle to get words down. Writing these posts often helps with that. If I don’t have the creative juices flowing to work on a story, writing a blog post often does the trick.

Figuring it All Out as I Go

So now comes the part of trying to figure everything out. For example, I want to write better blog posts that are more interesting and entertaining. Except, if I put too much thought into these, nothing gets written. This has led me to think about what I want to do with this little space of mine.

In trying to figure that out, I’ve decided that for now, this is more about my journey along the road of writing, and I’m sure life itself. Like my fiction, people will either read it and like it or get put to sleep. This is more for me than anyone else. The important things is I’m having fun reviving this blog.

I’ve been writing more and more over the past couple of weeks. For a change, I feel like I have made progress on stories. I’m also learning and growing. Each story is a learning experience. Which is another thing that motivates me. It’s fun to see how I’ll learn and grow from all of this. I think this is a lesson I’ve forgotten.

I’ll most likely write other posts on all the things that have held me back in the past couple of years. Who knows, maybe someone else is struggling just like I am and what I have to say might help them past that. I always hope that these ramblings will help others, at least in some tiny way.

For now, I’ll keep pushing forward. I feel good about the story I’m working on. It’ll be another short romance. If I keep at the pace I’m at now, it should be out sometime this month. Also, I’ll keep posting updates, musing, mindless ramblings and such. Maybe after I get this next story out, I’ll do some design changes to this site. I’d like to get another ‘follow by email’ subscription service set up, in case someone really enjoys what I write and they want to subscribe.

Writing this has kicked my creative energy into gear to work on a story. So that’s where I’m heading next.

This Twitter Thingy Stuff

Many people are really up in a roar about everything happening over at Twitter. I guess I can understand, somewhat. I’m more or less an outsider looking in at the situation. I’ve never tweeted. Not once in my life. Shocking, I know.

If you read my About page, then you should know that I’m not on other social media outlets. Why? Because I totally suck at them. For whatever reason, they have never held my interest. I have tried to be more active on Facebook (under my real name) but it never lasts. I get bored, and that’s it.

Every once in a while I might read tweets from people, or Facebook posts, or Instagram posts of some of my favorite authors, but I have no desire to take part in being an active member of those sites. Honestly, I do not know why. It’s the way I am.

This may change one day. Who knows, I might find a platform I like and that will be it. I’ll be hooked. Stranger things have happened.

Right now, I find it amusing? Interesting? Not sure what the right word is. Many people are frantically searching for a new platform and others are riding the wave to see what happens. I think the ones who are frantically searching for a new platform are doing so because Twitter was their main platform.

MySpace and Google+
Remember MySpace? At one time, it was all the rage. Then Facebook, Twitter and others came along and MySpace faded into the distance. While that situation is a little different from what’s going on at Twitter right now, still there is a lesson we should have learned from MySpace. No platform is forever.

When Google shut down Google+, it surprised people at how many people actually used that platform. Again, it should have been a lesson that, hey, your favorite platform could shut down at any moment.

I’m guessing, and this is really just a guess from things I’ve read online, that the people not freaking out are the people who have an online presence on other platforms besides Twitter. Most likely because they lived through the MySpace and Google+ days. They know not to limit themselves to one platform.

Blogging
The humble blog is where I find my home. Everyone says that blogging is dead, but I still read a great deal of blogs. I like them because I don’t have to sign-up or be a member of a certain platform or follow or friend anyone. I can just go to their site, read what they have to say, and get on with my day. Or I can use an RSS reader and get all the posts in one place, sort of like a social media platform only I’m not bombarded with ads. In short, this is the one form of social media I actually enjoy.

Blogging isn’t dead like people say it is, but it reached its peak when other social media outlets became more popular. Will blogging see a resurgence during all this Twitter stuff? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? Personally, I’d love to see a resurgence.

The thing with blogging is it’s your own little space on the web. It’s a place of your own. You can do as you wish, mostly. You’re not in the clutches of big tech and all their ads, algorithms, and other nonsense. The thing with blogging is if the platform I’m on shuts down, I can easily move it and point my domain name to the new platform without many hiccups.

The point is, the people whose blogs I read/follow don’t seem to be as worried about Twitter and its future because often their blog is their main platform. And/or they can be found in other places on the web. Or they remember MySpace and Google+ and already had a back-up plan in place.

Do I feel for the people who are worried about Twitter’s uncertain future? Yeah, I do. I get it, I really do. Even if I don’t get the appeal of all these different platforms. I hope this is a lesson well learned by many. Who knows, Twitter might come out of this alive and well in the end. As of now, I’m not hopeful, as I’ve lived through the demise of others.

One Last Thing
Just a reminder for everyone. If you are looking for me on other platforms, I’m not there. Right now, this is the only social media place to find Zetta Hunt. If you find this name on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. It’s not me. I’ve got too much writing to get done to worry about being all over the internet right now.

And there is the lesson for myself in all of this: stop worrying about social media and what’s happening on the internet and get my writing done.

Another Over Due Update

 I know I’ve been silent. A year ago, I had every intention of getting another story written and out into the world. Obviously, it didn’t happen. Anyone who might still be out there visiting this blog, I’m still here.

Many times, I thought of abandoning this pen name. Starting over with something else. Yet, when the domain name came up for renewal, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I let it renew for another year.

Last year when I wrote an update, I had every intention of getting another story written. In fact, I had the story started. But it turned into a mess and I wanted to get it done before the holidays. Those two things caused a great deal of frustration and stress for me, to where I abandoned the story and moved on.

THE PROBLEM AT HAND

I’m certain my key problem is I have an issue with perfectionism. Which honestly seems weird to me. I’ve never viewed myself as a perfectionist. In most areas of my life, I’m a ‘good enough’ type of person. Or a ‘well, at least I tried.’ But with writing, I want everything to be just so. Maybe because I care about writing and books more than other things in life and that is why I have this issue with writing.

I want the perfect story, the prefect pen name, the perfect blog posts, the perfect etc. The problem is, none of these things exist. There is no perfect anything, and perfection is subjective. What I think is the most perfect piece of cake, someone else will think is the worst piece of cake ever. Most things in life are subjective like that.

In short, I’ve been getting in my own way.

Now, I’m trying to get past myself and get more stories finished and out into the world for people to love, hate, or whatever.

MOVING FORWARD

Most of what I said in my last post from a year ago still applies to now. I’m not making promises on anything, but this time I do have renewed vigor towards my writing. I’m going to dust off this blog, get back to posting here more frequently. Sometimes taking the time to write a blog post sparks my enthusiasm for writing my fiction. I’m also at work on another story.

I doubt I’ll do a holiday story this season, which is a shame, as I’m a total sucker for Christmas romance stories. But considering we are already past mid November, right now, I don’t want that kind of pressure.

Again, I’m not making and promises about anything right now. I’m just trying to find my footing again and get back into all of this.

Update, Things Coming Soon, Subscribing and Where the Heck Have You Been Zetta??

 Sorry I've been silent most of the year. These things happen. So where have I been? Writing and failing, life getting in the way, and other time bandits who latched on to me. I might write some boring blog posts about some of this in the future, but not now.

Right now I wanted to get out at least a brief post about a few things.

First, in case any of you have noticed, the subscribe button that was once at the top of this site is gone. This site is hosted through Blogger and it used Feedburner to deliver blog posts via email. In July that particular Feedburner service ended. While I didn't have many subscribers, it'd still be nice for those who wish to receive posts via email to be able to do so. Like many others who use Blogger I've been researching alternatives to this, and I think I've found a good alternative. I'll let you all know when I have something set up.

Second, I plan on doing some site changes. Hopefully this will go without hiccups, but if you come upon this site and it looks wonky for a hot second or two, that could be why. I'll probably be doing some things in stages as I'm busy with other projects and stuff at the moment. Which brings me to the next item. . .

Third, while I'm not making promises at this point, I am hard at work on another story in the Holiday Wishes Series. I also plan on revisiting the two Christmas stories in that series that I released last year to find errors and do minor editing and such. The stories should update automatically on Kindle, but who knows for sure when it comes to Amazon.

Last year when I decided to write the Christmas stories, I'd originally planned four stories total. That was really too ambitious for the time of the year I started them. But hey, this has been a learning experience for sure.

I'd made some rough sketches of all four stories last year when I started this project. I recently dug out the remaining two story sketches off my back-up files and have a good start on them. Hopefully, I'm not working on them in a mad rush like I did last year. After those stories are done, I'm hoping to keep the pace and get more stories out after the first of the year. Unlike this past year. Again, I'm not making any promises on any of this, I'm just trying to do the best I can right now.

I'm hoping within the next week or so to get a subscriber thing back up on the site, so keep checking back until then. I also hope to get back to posting regularly on this site again, but like I said, at this point, I'm not making solid promises on anything and just taking things as they come until I can get on better footing with all of this. Basically, I wanted to let you all know that I'm still here, and that I do plan on releasing some more stories soon.

Outline Disaster

 

I’ve always wanted to outline a novel. I have books that present outlining systems for writers. These books attract me like bug-lights attract bugs. Unfortunately, my fate ends up being like those poor bugs flying toward the light and their doom.

I think the reason I’m attracted to an in-depth outlining system is they promise a straightforward way to produce a great novel. These books break the entire writing process down into a neat and easy process. They also try to debunk the myths that outlining your story ahead of time will kill your creativity for the project. Maybe for some writer’s this is true. But as I’m finding out, not all of us.

I did rough outlines for the last three stories I published. When I say rough, I mean a short sketch fit into a brief structure. And those stories have far exceeded my expectations, meaning more than one person actually read them. So I thought, alright, I must be an outliner after all.

So I dove into one of these books on outlining. I came up with an idea, and decided I’m going to see this process through to the end.

Everything began well enough. I made brief character sketches, brief plot outlines, and so on. Things grew the more I worked on it, and then it was time to work on the real meat of the outline. By that time I felt like I was trying to climb up a mountain in three feet of mud.

I lost interest in outlining, and worse, I was losing interest in my story. A story I really liked. But, and this is the big BUT, I felt like the spark had gone out of my idea. The spark I had for the story was flying towards the light with the bugs.

I looked at other methods of outlining, thinking maybe a different system would be better. After much frustration, I finally diagnosed my issue with all of this - I wasn’t having any fun.

Folks, let me tell you, long ago I made a vow to myself. I worked in the same profession for many, many years, while it had good and bad days like everything else, in the end it was a job with a lot of hard work and soul sucking drudgery. When I started getting published and actually making a few cents at this, (this was before my self-publishing adventure I’m on now) I vowed not to let this become like the day job. This wouldn’t be soul sucking drudgery.

So now I had to figure out what to do with this story. I still liked it. I didn’t want to stop working on it. So I sat down and listed all the different aspects of the writing process I liked and had fun with.

I think it might have been a turning point for me.

It showed me I don’t want to shoehorn stories into some nice and neat outline system, complete with nice and neat story templates. I do, however, like coming up with character backstories, and I’m okay with a brief summary outline of what I think the story is going to be. But that is where my pre-writing fun ended. Everything else I found fun about writing pertained to the writing itself: drafting, editing, even rewriting and revision has become more enjoyable for me.

After all of that, I brainstormed ideas for other stories. One idea really grabbed me. So instead of doing a ton of pre-writing, I started writing the story. I felt like I was making progress. After I did a few thousand words, I took another stab at the story I’d been outlining. I wrote the opening chapter, but I could tell the magic and fire wasn’t there. So I switched back to the other story, having great fun of creating. Then, I wrote the next part of the outlined story.

That's when it happened. The spark veered away from the light and came back to the story. I’m making progress. But what’s important is I’m having fun again.

I put the books on outlining away. Does this mean I won’t try this again? Ha! I doubt it. But this experience has taught me many things, so the time lost on getting my next story out wasn’t entirely a waste. This is the reason I didn’t get a story out last month like I wanted to. 

I’m back in my writing groove and making steady progress daily.

A side note: In case you’re wondering why I didn’t mention the title of the book I was using, it’s because I don’t want to give the book a bad rap. I’m sure that it works for other people and I’m not one to put down another person’s process that works not only for them, but for countless others.

New Year, New Direction

So I thought I’d take some time to give you all a writing update. First off, I’m hard at work on my next story and with luck it’ll be out before the end of the month. At least that’s the goal right now.

Second off, I’m slightly changing directions somewhat. I really enjoyed writing the two Christmas stories I put out in December. I was ambitious and actually had four stories planned. But by the time I finished The Gift of Holly, I realized there was no way I was going to get two more stories out and get ready for Christmas at the same time. Especially since I’d done nothing, and I mean nothing, to get ready for the holidays. But, as of now, I still plan on writing those other two stories and releasing them for the 2021 Christmas season.

As I warned in a previous post (if you’ve been following along) they were not my usual steamy stuff. Originally, I meant for them to be, but they turned out the way they turned out. Not only did I have a great time writing them, but I was in shock when Her Secret Santa took off and sold like crazy. Seriously, I didn’t expect that at all. I just wrote the type of Christmas stories I’d want to read.

So I’ve decided to stay with the romance. I consider my first three stories more erotic than romantic, at least in my mind they are, even though they ended with a HEA. Don’t worry though, I plan on writing steamy romances, because I don’t know about you, but I like my steam. So that’s the direction my fiction is going in right now.

Also, I plan on paying more attention to this site and blog and posting a little more often than I have in the past. Although, I won’t guarantee that this will happen, but I’m going to try my best because I enjoy it.

This entire process has been a ‘learning by doing’ experience. No matter how much I tried to learn before I started, I’ve found that actually doing it is a different thing all its own. So for anyone out there that ever thought about writing and self-publishing and hasn’t yet done so, you just have to make the big giant scary leap and do it. It turns out not to be so scary after all.

Other things

Also, for all of those who have been following along, I have been trying to become a planner with my life in general. It took a few days (well, okay, maybe several) after the first of the year to get in full swing of things. But I’m now armed with to-do lists and trying different methods till I find something that works for me. Right now, it’s with pen and paper. I may incorporate something digital later on. Maybe I’ll write a post about this once I find my footing with it. I realized that if I’m going to keep writing and publishing my stories, even if it is just for fun, I’m going to have to manage my time much better than before.

I’m also becoming a planner in terms of how I approach my writing. I’m following an outline system at the moment for my current work in progress. So far it’s been working out for me. I feel more like I’m brainstorming ideas than outlining a story, and that has been fun. If it works, that too might be the subject of a future post.

A Big Thank You

Last but certainly not least, I want to give a big thank you to all of you that have read my stories. I hope that you have enjoyed reading my them as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

That's all can think of for now. So stay tuned, more stuff will be coming your way soon.

3 Things I Liked About 2020

 

Here we are in 2021 already. I’m sure it relieves some people after everything that happened in 2020 and hoping for a better year this time around. Honestly, I can’t complain too much about 2020. This may surprise some, maybe others not so much. I was talking with a friend the other day, and we both listed the bright spots of the past year.

I mean yes; it was a crappy year. Too many people lost jobs, and/or family members and close friends, a crazy, demented circus known as the U.S. election happened, lock downs, riots, etc. So some of you may wonder how I could find bright spots in all of that? I don’t consider myself an optimistic person although, over the past few years, I’ve been slowly trying to change that.

So here is my list of 3 things I found great about 2020:

1. I took the leap and self-published some stories

For the past two years or so, I’d given this serious consideration for many reasons. So I started writing stories, but they became unruly and I’d start another one, till it became garbage, so I’d start another one and on went the cycle. In 2020 I decided this was it, I’m going to do this. Again, I worked at some things, started other things, and then the lock-down happened.

I thought to myself, you know people are stuck at home now and looking for things to do. This is it. I’m going to write stories so people can pass the time.

Which obviously I did. It was a milestone for certain. I know my first couple of stories aren’t that great. But it’s the fact I did something I loved and some people actually took the time to read the stories.

Then I wrote Her Secret Santa, which to my complete shock and surprise took off like crazy. And I admit, I love that little Christmas story. But if I hadn’t taken the leap, I’d still be in my cycle of starting a story, run into problems, give up, start something else. I broke that cycle at last.

2. I learned a lot about myself

I barely worked my day job this year, mainly because of the virus. So I had the time to take a good hard look at myself. I understand why people don’t do this too often, because it’s hard face what we find out about ourselves.

From ups and downs, I realized several things about myself. From writing three stories that I published, to getting blocked having trouble writing new stories, which caused me to fall back into my start a story, it sucks, start another story, it sucks also, cycle for the months that followed.

I faced the fact I had to make internal changes, which are the hardest changes to not only face, but to make. I had no balance in my life. When I wrote the first three stories, that was all I did. I didn’t exercise, which caused me to put on weight, I wasn’t eating well, I wasn’t keeping up with day-to-day things. All I did was sit in front of the computer and write. If I wasn’t writing, I was wasting time on the internet. It was no wonder I burned out.

After a couple months of being frustrated with my place in life, I began an exercise routine. When the weight didn’t come off after two months of regular exercise, I realized my eating habits had to change. I felt better. In November I went back to work almost full time for most of the month. Which, ended up being a good thing, it broke up my routine and helped to get me out of the rut I was in.

I knew in order to keep up with everything I needed to plan things. I needed to get back to using to-do lists, and planning my year, months and weeks, and setting goals if I was going to keep up with everything.

When I wrote the Christmas stories, I let the exercise slide some and could feel it taking a toll on my health again, but I wanted to get the stories out before Christmas and was on a deadline because of that. But this time I was aware of it.

So I’ve become more aware of things with myself. If I’d worked the day job the whole year as normal, I’m not sure I would have had the time or energy to face these things.

3. I had an excuse for everything

When I put on weight, I told people it was Covid weight. Everyone nodded in understanding. If I didn’t want to go anywhere, I explained that the virus was still out there. If I didn’t get writing done, I was depressed because of Covid.

Basically, no matter what went wrong, I could just blame Covid and everyone would sagely agree and understand. Oh, how grand this is!

But now with a vaccine beginning to circulate and the pandemic surely to end sometime this year, what will I do then?

Well, if you read number two above, I hope to have my life on a better footing by then. Still, it was epic to have something to blame all of our shortcomings on, wasn’t it? Yes. Yes, it was.

So no matter how bad last year was, try to find what might have been good about it for yourself. It might not be many things, after all, I only came up with three, but I’m sure there is more if I look hard enough. Finding the good often helps to get through the bad.

To all of you, here is to an awesome 2021. May all of us have our best year yet.

New Release - The Gift of Holly

 I've got another Christmas story for you. Like the last story, it's a romance and not quite as steamy as my other stories, but there's still enough sexy steam to keep you warm in this holiday season.

This will be the last Christmas story for this year. Originally, I'd planned to do four stories. Alas, it is not meant to be this year. This last story took me longer than I'd planned and time was of the essence. 

I mentioned in a previous post about my lack of time management. Was I ambitious thinking I could do four stories this month? Maybe, maybe not. I learn a lot with each new story I write and these past few weeks have been a learning experience for sure. I'll explore this more in depth in future blog posts. In the end, I feel if I hadn't been over ambitious to some extent, I may have only gotten one story out this month. 

Speaking of stories. I present to you - The Gift of Holly

MAKE A WISH UPON A SNOWFLAKE DURING THE HOLIDAYS AND IT MIGHT COME TRUE!

Holly

Heartbroken at Christmas.

That’s what I am when I catch my boyfriend cheating on me. Now, I’m not only left heartbroken, but left without the extra help for the Christmas fundraiser to support the local animal shelter. Plus, I can’t stop thinking about my ex-boyfriend’s hot neighbor, Gage. I shouldn’t be thinking about another man in my current state of misery. Another man is the last thing I need right now. But, when he volunteers to help with the fundraiser, everyone else thinks he’s exactly what I need right now.  

Gage

I’ve always had an attraction for my neighbor's girlfriend Holly. When I find out they broke up, I want to make my move. Only I don’t want to be the rebound guy, I want to be THE guy for her. Lucky for me a notorious matchmaker is convinced that Holly and I are right for each other. This guy is my new best friend for sure, because I’m going to need all the help I can get to make her mine.

If your looking for a short sweet steamy holiday read, this story is for you. This is a stand alone short story holiday romance with a HEA.

Available from AMAZON

New Release - Her Secret Santa

 Are you ready for a new story? Of course you are! I had seriously hoped to have a new story out way before this. I know my last story was a holiday story and so is this one. Don't worry, I'm not going to write just holiday stories from now on. But, I have more Christmas stories coming before the end of this year.

The other thing is, this story didn't turn out as steamy as my other ones. This is a romance story. Whereas the other ones I consider more romantic erotica. So if your looking for a cute Christmas love story, this is it. Don't worry, I still have some steam in it. I can't help it, gotta have my steam!

Now I present you to the first story in my Holiday Wishes Series - Her Secret Santa.

MAKE A WISH UPON A SNOWFLAKE DURING THE HOLIDAYS AND IT MIGHT COME TRUE!

Brianna

Alone at Christmas.

That’s what I’m going to be. My parents are going out of state to visit my deadbeat brother and my best friend is leaving town with her boyfriend. I wish I had a hot guy to spend it with. I keep trying to be glass half-full positive, but it’s not working out. That is until gifts started showing up at my door. Literately, someone is leaving me gifts outside my apartment door, with a note that says, “From your secret Santa.” Try as I might, I can’t figure out who this Secret Santa is. I’ve narrowed it down to my hot and grumpy neighbor across the hall who never speaks to me or the creepy guy who lives in the apartment building next door. Considering my options, my glass is looking half-empty more and more.

Marcus

When I found out that Brianna, my neighbor across the hall, is going to be alone at Christmas I decided to do something special for her. Problem is, I never speak to her. When I moved in I wasn’t in the mood to make friends, especially with women. Getting your heart ripped out will do that. But she kept smiling at me everyday no matter what. It’s her smile that kept me from falling into despair. Now I devised a plan to take her to a Christmas Ball. I can only hope she doesn’t slam the door in my face when she finds out I’m her Secret Santa.

If your looking for a short sweet steamy holiday read, this story is for you. This is a stand alone short story holiday romance with a HEA.

Available from AMAZON