Nancy Gideon's Blog, page 17

IWSG: Regrets Only (. . .get in the way!)

Coulda.Shoulda.Woulda. Do I have regrets about my writing career? You betcha!
Most of those hindsight moments came early on, when I believed I should be listening to those I’d hired to advise me. One of my first agents (a bad one, which is worse than none at all!) was overly hesitant to make waves, holding me back with safe projects that would continue to fill her pockets instead of enhancing my career. I already had an awesome editor whom I loved to work with, but the agent kept insisting I follow her cautious advice instead of the path my editor and I had already decided upon, and worse didn’t do what she said she would, purposefully creating tension where none had existed. Long story short, I took her advice (I was paying for it, after all!) instead of going with my gut, and her interference kept me from jumping on a lucrative path. Instead, I got mired down on a safe road that led nowhere. That missed opportunity still haunts me, making me wonder where I could have gone had I listened to my instincts. But I did learn an important lesson: No one has as much at stake in your career as you do!
That said, I’ll admit, I haven’t always made the wisest choices. But I have no one to blame for them. I took the risks and accepted the consequences, good or bad, without regrets or blame. And I learned from them. I’m okay with that. Regrets breed bitterness if not addressed, and that is something a career cannot overcome. So, don’t bemoan what you coulda done. Don’t beat yourself up over what you shoulda done. Don’t fixate on what woulda happened if only . . .

There’s only the next step, the next choice, the next path. So make sure it’s the one you want, need, and deserve to be travelling. In this brand-new year, that’s the advice I plan to follow!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.The awesome co-hosts for the December 1st posting of the IWSG will be PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
 Click Here → 
To join the IWSG Blog Hop and view the List of Hop Participants!
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: “I’ll look for them” . . . Happy New Year!

It’s the start of a New Year (2022, to be exact!) and it’s Butt-in-Chair-Hands-on-Keys for me! And about time. I haven’t added any wordage to my W.I.P., A RISK-TAKING RANGER, since October(!) so I have a lot of pages to make up for now that the holidays are over, and the tree has been taken down. I’m SO ready. I’ve got missing girls waiting for rescue and a hero and heroine who are dying to get up close and personal. So here’s the promise my Texas Ranger hero makes – his New Year’s resolution of sorts to get me back in the saddle.

Who would bother to look for those no one would miss?
“I’ll look for them.”
Zayn’s vow was followed by silence. No disbelief showed in the stoic expressions confronting him but no trust, either. He understood their reluctance. Lenna Lupan wasn’t their obligation. Nor was she the first to disappear. That was a hard fact of their out of the mainstream existence. No one knew and no one cared.
“I care.”
Again, his claim was met with flat black stares. He didn’t waste time trying to convince them of his sincerity. Only positive results could do that.

Though it wasn’t a white Christmas here in Michigan, we’ve got it on the ground now with temps in the 20s/30s. I’ve done my first bout of shoveling and driving on ice and am, frankly, ready to hibernate until April. Yes, it’s pretty to look at and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else (well, maybe Ireland!), so I’ll quite complaining and get back to the keyboard to keep that forward momentum going – right after I see what you’ve been up to.
Hope you all had a safe and Happy New Year!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Celebrate the Season!!

Celebrate the Season!! 
Love and Happiness,
Nancy






Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: ‘Tis the Season . . . Renewing that Romance

Re-gifting is definitely a thing I avoid . . . except when it comes to a holiday book. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, my Dana Ransom contemporary, has a lot of . . . history. But first, here’s a taste . . .

“Don’t make a habit of depending on me.”
She heard a volume in that casual warning. He was a bad boy and she’d better be on guard. Why didn’t she believe that? He did.
When she didn’t draw away, he seemed determined to prove it to her.
His hand cupped her wind-flushed cheek, his thumb hooking beneath her chin to angle it up. She knew what he was planning. She had plenty of time to resist. But her eyes were closing, her lips parting and when he finally bent to claim them, she all but melted down the front of him.
(And the rest of the scene . . .)
If he wanted to show her he was a man who couldn’t be trusted, he should have seized her up with a rough disregard. But he didn’t. He undercut everything he was trying to convince her of with a kiss that was achingly, searchingly sweet. Tough guys didn’t kiss like that. Disreputable womanizers didn’t go to such great lengths to ease up slow, seeking just the right slant, just the right pressure to earn just the right response. And Robyn responded with all the right emotions. For all of ten seconds.
Then her hands flew up, pushing against his chest with an unnecessary force. He wasn’t trying to restrain her. She was fighting against her own desire to linger in his embrace.
“Don’t,” she cried out in a hoarse little voice, all jagged and edged in fear.
And Kyle, not understanding that she was afraid of herself not him, growled in his own defense, “Did he hurt you or was he just a fool?”
“Who?” Robyn panted.
“Your ex-husband.”
“I—he—I’m not divorced.” She jerked away and began to fumble frantically in her purse for her house keys. She should have had them in her hand. She should have been ready.
“Not—I don’t get it.” He was staring at her, obviously confused and growing angry. “Are you separated? The ring—”
She grabbed up her key and jammed it into the lock, thrusting open the door so hard she almost fell inside. And she was angry, too. Angry at herself for feeling so scared and so aroused. There were tears in her eyes when she told him furiously, “I never would have left him. He left me. My husband died.”
He stood, stunned into wordlessness as she slipped inside and slammed the door in his face.

This particular contemporary has a curious publishing past. I wrote it as the final book of four contracted by Zebra/Kensington for its “Lucky in Love” contemporary romance series back in the 1990s. The manuscript was accepted. I seem to remember seeing a cover. But before it was released, the line folded and my book, along with those of many other authors, was never published. Fast forward to 2014. Belle Books was acquiring contemporaries and my former editor purchased all four of my “Lucky in Love” books for reissue. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD would finally have its special day – just like main characters, Robyn and Kyle. Since it IS the season for auld lang syne, it’s back making rounds with readers.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo BooksPublished: November 20, 2014Length: 188 PagesAdd to Goodreads TBR→

Can two broken hearts make a perfect match?
Widowed on her honeymoon, Robyn Lee pours all her unfulfilled dreams of a happily-ever-after into her wedding planner business, hiding her own heartbreak by making perfect memories for couples beginning the loving future she was denied. The last thing she needs is for the brother of her dream client--whose endorsement will guarantee Robyn's success--to rock the boat . . . and her regimented world.
Through the lens of his camera, photojournalist Kyle Travers has witnessed all the ugliness life can offer. Still reeling from the death of his coworker in the field, he sees the frilly job of photographer at his sister's wedding as an annoyance--until he meets the steely organizer who protects her broken spirit almost as fiercely as he does his own--making him wonder if two fractured halves can make a stronger whole.

Since this is our last gathering before Christmas, I wish all who celebrate the very best of times, and seasons greetings to all!



Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: A Daring Rescue . . . and Rebirth of a Series - LOVE’S OWN REWARD

Sometimes daring action is followed by unexpected reward. I’m a cowardly wallflower at heart. It takes a real hard shove to make me step forward to champion my own interests in a social situation. Yet there I was several decades ago at a Kensington/Zebra conference party when I spotted one of the company heads standing alone. Some higher force must have given me a shove, because suddenly I was thanking her for allowing me to make a name for myself writing historical romances . . . then took another breath and asked if they had any new lines coming out that I might contribute to since I was a prolific writer (already writing for two other publishers in addition to Zebra at that time). She smiled and told me of a new project they’d be discussing at the next day’s workshop and encouraged me to talk to my editor. The “Lucky In Love” contemporary line was a change of pace for the largely historical romance publisher. They already had a renown contemporary launch author on board but were getting ready to recruit three more for the initial release month. I wanted to be one of them! My boldness was rewarded. LOVE’S OWN REWARD, written under my Dana Ransom pen name, came out in that debut month. Here’s a snippet . . .

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo BooksPublished: May 27, 2014Length: 190 PagesAdd to Goodreads TBR→

It was the bravest damn thing he’d ever seen. She was only a little bit of a thing, so delicate she might have been confused with a girl. He could remember every finely cut line of her face as she’d dashed in front of his stopped car, so small and yet possessed of a courage that put the rest of them to shame. While others watched, himself included, she’d scrambled into that compact, heedless of the danger, to bring out the little boy, and if that wasn’t enough, she’d gone back toward certain death in an effort to save the kid’s parents. She couldn’t, of course, Jess had known that the moment he saw the fuel ignite, but it hadn’t stopped her from trying.
She’d fought him like a madwoman when he’d pulled her away, barely seconds before she would have been engulfed in the same fiery ball that consumed the car. Such amazing strength in such a tiny package.
Until this event had played out before his disbelieving eyes, he’d shunned stories of heroism. Then, he’d felt the frantic beat of her big, big heart against his chest, felt the helpless trembling of her despair as he held her in his arms . . . and never had anything touched him so strongly, so powerfully, so tenderly as that moment, as that woman.
Why had she taken the money?

Jump ahead twenty years . . . I’d long since gotten the rights back to the books I did for Zebra when Bell Books, an indie press begun by one of my writer friends, was actively acquiring for their Bell Bridge imprint. One of my former editors, now working with Bell, was interested in buying my vampire series for reprints, soooooo I asked if they had a place for the four contemporaries, as well (NOTE: It NEVER hurts to ask!!). Nine books (including one that Zebra had purchased but had never gotten released) back in print with new covers (and new advances!)! Recycling at its finest!

The reprint of LOVE’S OWN REWARD, as well as TOTALLY YOURS, LIFETIME INVESTMENT and FROM THIS DAY FORWARD are all still available. How’s that for parlaying a nervous question into a 30-year life expectancy!
For more fun in the contemporary area, I’m participating in Coffee, Cupcakes and Contemporaries’ Holly, Jolly Holiday Party with about 100 other authors on Facebook December 17! I’ll be giving away a copy of LOVE’S OWN REWARD! Join and visit me!!

Hope your December is progressing better than mine in the new writing arena. I, for one, have managed only a single new page!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

IWSG: Writing Stresses and Delights

Writing, like life, is full of ups and downs. If you’re a writer, you’re either worrying about your word count, your hero’s GMC, how you’re going to coerce time at the keyboard or what the next scene needs in order to move the plot forward . . . or you’re in the Zone, with page counts ticking by like mileage on your car and characters gabbing away in your head faster than you can type. There’s rarely a neutral zone. As writers, we’re either actively writing, thinking about what we should be writing, or worrying about why we aren’t writing. What a frustrating job! But oh, the benefits.
First the stresses, some real, some products of a frantically spinning mind. Some you can deal with and manipulate, some are just set in stone facts of life. Deciding which goes a long way toward learning to live with them. The sooner we know the difference, the sooner we can establish a way to cope with them and move on to that next page. Know thy enemy. Finding time to write was my biggest problem when I started out with a now ex-husband who opposed my writing but loved my royalty checks, two small, curious and into everything boys, a household to manage, and then, a 9-to-5 added to the mix. I could drive myself crazy, give up, or I could find the path of least resistance to see my goals accomplished. I couldn’t change the family dictates (well, actually I finally did – with a divorce!) so I adapted my schedule to find those precious hours – in my case, at 4:30 a.m. every morning. I got those pages in and on time. I searched out those precious hours of computer time and when not actively writing, I was researching or reading to up my game. I discovered the things that stressed me were things I could handle. The things I couldn’t change, I accepted or found a way to work around them. And that led to the delights!
I LOVE being a writer! I cherish my time alone with words and images and characters who live first in my mind and then on the page. I live to plot! I can’t help myself. I’m always spinning a new story in my head. One of my favorite occasions was meeting with my critique group (something that’s been on hiatus this past year) to fuel that flame. My relationship with words is a privately enjoyed thing. Just me and that story unfolding a page at a time. It’s never been the public attention or the numbers or bragging rights. It’s sitting alone in front of the screen, reading back that last paragraph and saying to myself, “Damn, that’s good! I wish I’d written that . . . Oh yeah. I did.”
The ups and downs. You can’t appreciate the one without the other. Here’s hoping you’ve got an equal balance or, better yet, more of the first! And did anyone else notice the date is 12121? Whoa!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.The awesome co-hosts for the December 1st posting of the IWSG will be PJ Colando, Diane Burton, Louise – Fundy Blue, Natalie Aguirre, and Jacqui Murray!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
 Click Here → 
To join the IWSG Blog Hop and view the List of Hop Participants!
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Stuffed with Turkey and . . . Gratitude

2021, I am so ready to put you in my rearview! Going into the last month of the year this week with an attitude of gratitude for all I have and have survived. And especially for those who encourage me to get back to the keyboard. You gotta have friends who understand you and your passions . . . just like Lu and Nora in my WIP, A RISK-TAKING RANGER.

“So,” Nora drawled out as she navigated the whoop-de-dos of the dirt road, “why have I never heard you talk about your ranger friend? Afraid he’d turn my head with that slick smile and tight butt?”
Lu snorted, obviously uncomfortable with her accurate assessment. “He was part of my past at the time. ‘Sides, you weren’t much for sharing, either.”
Her jaw tightened. “Not much there I cared to dump on a stranger.”
She flinched when he pressed her shoulder in an empathetic gesture, then forced her muscles to relax by reminding herself that it was Lu, her trusted wingman who’d had her six throughout their years in law school, she let her breath shiver out when he drew back his hand.
Sensing he’d crossed that unspoken boundary, Lu pretended he didn’t notice.
(And a few more lines . . .)
“Z and I go back practically to our first steps. Since I had a single mom and he had none to speak of, we grew up tight as brothers at my gran’s house. He’s a good man, an honest one. You can trust him, Nora. If you’re with me, he’ll consider you with him.”
A quick glance cut his way. “Is that how you see it? That I’m with you?”
He grinned, teeth flashing bright against bronze skin. Maturity had given his striking knife-sharp features a hard, handsomeness. “Always have been. Always will be. Just like me and him.”

I don’t think I’ve managed more than a handful of new words this month. Too much busyness in the day-to-day life. But now that all but the last holiday has gone by and the house is already clean, I’m ready to put butt in chair to begin that rush to the end of the book . . . or at least the middle! Need to sit down to some serious plotting that will carry my characters where they need to go – this being one of the few books I’ve ever started without a full outline in place. Just read through what I have to build up momentum and ready to roll.
How about you? Have you shaken off the tryptophan lull of the holiday table to confront that blinking computer cursor? Notice I didn’t say “curser!”
Leftovers, here I come . . . as soon as I get some new words done!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: The Simple Life . . . A Risk-Taking Ranger

Ahhhhhh . . . the simple life. It’s what we all strive for. That kicking back, feet up relaxation where we feel free to let the world go on around us without worry. What a perfect world that would be . . . an unattainable world for the characters in my latest WIP, despite what they try to tell us in today’s excerpt.

“It’s a simple life down here, Miz Prescott,” he drawled out carefully, “no frills, not much fun, and damned hard for those who choose to stick it out. Lu’s a stick to it kinda guy, but you probably know that about him. Thought I might have seen the last of him when he went off to that fancy school but I shoulda known better. Me and him, we were raised on this ungiving ground. We sweat it outta our pores. These are our people, our problems, our . . . joie de vivre. And yes, ma’am, I know what that means and how to spell it.”
Dark eyes blinked, then she threw back her head for a boisterous laugh. “Ah, damn, I’m gonna like you, Ranger Bass.”
“Then you’d best start calling me Zayn.”
“And I’m Nora.”

Nora and Zayn are always on high alert, her because of her past, him because of his profession. This makes it hard for them to let down the walls and just enjoy the moment. What’s it going to take for them to realize what they’ve been missing . . . and what they’re about to lose? Guess I’ll just have to get back to the keyboard and find out!
I remember a simple(r) life. Back before the Internet and cable TV, when we had three TV channels on our black & white set and a rotary dial phone. No microwave, no permapress sheets (they were steamed in the terrifying mangle presser by my mom). We played outside with the other neighborhood kids inventing our own games to play – in person, face-to-face not on a separate screen while sitting right next to one another. We went to the library for our reading material, not Amazon. Do I miss that uncomplicated simplicity? Sometimes. Would I go back there? Oh heck no! But stepping out of the busyness of life to take a breath and slow down the heartrate is sometimes all the vacation I need, be it on the patio with the cats or taking that fabulous vacay where the horizon stretches from here to tomorrow with nothing to get in the way.

I thought it would come easier with retirement (Retirement is such a scam. I’m busier now than I ever was while working!) but my daily/weekly/monthly calendar just keeps filling up, all on its own despite my best efforts. Technology continues to frustrate me. I just got a new phone and am struggling to get it set up with all the bells and whistles. Instead of studying the three-page instructions, I’m over One Clicking on snazzy new phone covers. Guess I’m just a blingaholic at heart!
What are you working on this weekend? I hope it’s another chapter.

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

WeWriWa: Paths Untraveled . . . A RISK-TAKING RANGER

Our lives are filled with choices – some hastily made and then regretted, some long dreamed of then left behind, and some lingering ahead just out of reach, tempting with the lure of that road less traveled. The hero in my new Texas-set romantic suspense - a well-travelled fellow, even without wandering far from home in his job as a Texas Ranger - is trying to understand his best friend’s new friend . . . who may be tempting him down an unexpected path . . .

“So, you and Lu . . .”
Nora laughed at that dangling supposition and answered easily, “Just friends, through thick and thin.” Her dark eyes probed his gaze for a long, beginning to get uncomfortable moment. “Just like the two of you. He’s about the best person I know. I’d always hoped we go into partnership after we got our degrees. We could’ve done some real positive damage together, but his path led right back here. Maybe you could clue me in on why that is?”
She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed patiently beneath her modest bosom as she waited for his answer, as direct and unnerving a female as Zayn could ever remember meeting. He didn’t want to like that about this woman whose existence his best friend had kept so stingily to himself.

The unknown presents dangers as well as temptations for Nora Prescott, who has good reason not to trust a smiling stranger. But this one might hold answers she needs to uncover before continuing on the road she’s chosen for herself . . . a solitary journey that doesn’t look quite as rewarding as the invitation in his dark eyes. Worth the risk? I guess we’ll find out as the story unfolds. Trying out potential title: A RISK-TAKING RANGER. Yea or Nay?

Here’s one of the unexpected paths I recently explored in Ireland, climbing countless steps, steep rocky trails, and uneven footpaths (to rival the treachery of the sidewalks in the Dingle shopping district!). The distant goal here was the cliff braved by Luke Skywalker (a bit out of reach for us, unfortunately!). I’m not one to shy away from that road less explored, having discovered during a trip to Tucson less than three months after knee replacement(second of two, years ago), that the hardest climbs yield the best views. Case in point . . .

Does your writing path look daunting and unreachable? Instead of taking the easy road, try stretching beyond what you thought was attainable by pushing ahead. You just might find it worth the risk!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.
Nancy on the WebBlog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...

Battle of the Blurb vs Title. Which is Tougher?

Which is harder to do, come up with your book’s title or writing the blurb?
This month’s Insecure Writers Support Group post could be very difficult or easy peasy. For me, it’s simple. No question about it. It’s a title match, hands down. Blurbs, though sometimes onerous, basically come from the story and characters you’ve already created—things you already know and are comfortable with by the time specifics are called for. But the title . . . a title is your work’s birth name. Once it’s on the “certificate,” that’s how your work is identified, how it’s searched for on the shelves. It doesn’t just list the known ingredients, it’s the name of recipe, that identifying word or collection of words that tells you in a glance if this work is what you have a taste for. THEN you check the ingredients i.e. the blurb’s plot and character sketches in brief (in case you have an allergy to one of them). You want that title to stand out amongst thousands that fight for your attention. Each one of those specific words has to connect to the others in a way that creates your unique stamp upon what you’re offering the reader. It’s the tease that coaxes the reader to the blurb that seals the deal.
It gets particularly tricky when you’re doing a series. You want words that link the titles together in some manner, so they establish a community of characters or situations. That’s why my books are all UNTITLED 1, UNTITLED 2, etc. until I find that magic word or two that binds them as a series. For my vampire series, it was MIDNIGHT that was the key word followed by a qualifier i.e TEMPTATION, SURRENDER and for my shapeshifter series, BY MOONLIGHT was prefaced with MASKED, CAPTURED, and BOUND, etc., and for my old contemporaries, they all started with the word WARRIOR. Though a blurb can follow a similar pattern, the luxury of added words fills in the particulars to explain what’s behind that enticing title. Together, they tantalize the reader beyond their ability to resist.
At the moment, I’m working on a contemporary romantic suspense series that, as of the beginning of Book Two, has no main title element. I have a list started next to my laptop of possibilities but no clear winner as of yet. At this point, writing the BOOK is easier!
How about the rest you Warriors out there? I’m eager to read your answers.


The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.The awesome co-hosts for the November 3rd posting of the IWSG will be Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
 Click Here → 
To join the IWSG Blog Hop and view the List of Hop Participants!
Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube | Goodreads | AmazonGoodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="https://nancygideon.blogspot.com//pla...