K.R. Bailey's Blog, page 14

Letting Love Win

Alysia S Knight has a new book, Letting Love Win , expected to be released by Crimson Romance on July 16.  She’s going to be my guest blogger the same week it comes out so be sure and stop back by and learn about this new author.  In the meantime, here a blurb from her new book, Letting Love Win :There’s a Will and Rand Monroe’s found a way around it. To retain ownership of Roe Technology, his grandfather’s Will stipulates an heir, not marriage. Rand hires a surrogate to have his child. Things are looking good until the surrogate changes her mind at the last minute, and there’s a power failure.

Delivering a flower arrangement to her doctor’s office leads to Kiley Adams getting a pap smear, but when the lights go out, she gets a whole lot more. Now the innocent is faced with being pregnant before ever making love to a man. The father of her baby is a man who’s used to getting things he wants. It quickly becomes evident that he wants her.

Things might not be so bad if she hadn’t started falling in love with him the first moment she hit him in the head with a door at the doctor’s office. It also might be easier if someone wasn’t out to kill her.

Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass

I'm excited.  My newest story, Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass, is now available in paperback as well as all e-book formats.

 You can order a print copy through Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.  If you need an e-book format not available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, go to Bookstrand.com and you can find it most all e-book formats.

This is a Bookstrand Romantic Suspense and a small blurb follows:

 When five-year-old Anna Burke goes missing in the rugged mountains of Wolf Creek Pass, can a stranger understand the clues and find her? To survive the pain and loss of her own daughter's kidnapping and murder, Layne Youngman has closed her heart to everything but helping others find their missing children. As she begins her search, it appears nearly everyone has a secret. Rhys Burke is struggling to survive a bitter divorce. When Anna disappears while in his care, he is consumed with guilt and desperate to find his daughter. What he isn't prepared for is the petite woman investigator who strikes a fire in his heart unlike anything he's ever experienced. Together they must find a way to unravel the clues, overcome the obstacles, and concentrate on finding Anna. What they don't realize is the challenge may be more than they can handle.
For an excerpt, go to Bookstrand.com and read more!

I'd love to hear how you liked my story.  Happy Reading!

7 Days in Utopia

Last night my husband and I were watching a movie titled, 7 Days in Utopia, with Robert Duvall and Lucas Black.  Lucas plays the part of a young golfer who loses his cool, runs away and ends up in a car crash in Utopia.  Robert Duvall is a retired golfer who owns the field where the car crash happens.  Anyway, Robert Duvall has learned a lot from life and dares Lucas to spend seven days in Utopia and Robert Duval guarantees he can help him with his golf game.
As I listened to the various things Robert Duvall tries to teach the young golfer, I found those teachings apply to life, to the things we want to do as authors and writers.  I’d like to share a few of them with you.
1.  Find some conviction.  He goes on to say that without conviction, an off-handed comment can erode your confidence.  Isn’t that true?  I’ve read some e-mails on one of the loops I’m a member of about how devastated a young author was because a reader gave them a bad review or didn’t rate their story as high as they thought it should be.  Writing can be a tough business.  Every day we have to sit down and tell our stories and hope that everyone will like them.  I guarantee you, not everyone will, and that’s a hard fact to swallow.  But if we have conviction that we’re doing what we want to do, doing the best we can, developing our stories and characters, we’ll find readers and some of them will not only like the story, they’ll love it.  Remember, the reason why we started writing -- Conviction.  If you’re doing what you dreamed of doing, the rest will follow.
2.  Find rhythm, balance and patience .  Wow, how many times have we been told we have to find rhythm and balance in our stories.  Don’t provide too many facts too soon.  Make sure the story has a rhythm, a step-by-step plot that builds tension, pulls the reader in, yet has balance throughout.  Don’t tell the reader too much too fast.  Patience is required to do that.  Develop the skills required.  Find that emotional control to not rush things.
3.  If you want to play like a professional – act like one .  I’ve heard this over and over again.  If you believe you are an author, be one.  If you have written the greatest story of all time, show the world you’re a fantastic author.  Be professional in all you do.  Treat your craft as a professional because if you are writing and are striving to be published, you are a professional.
4.  Start with a blank canvas, think with your mind, then draw it .  In our case, write the story.  I don’t know about most of you, but I have to visualize a scene, the dialogue, the characters’ reactions to everything before I can sit down and put the words on paper.  It works best for me.  I remember reading where an author was determined to push her output from 2,000 words a day to over 10,000 words a day.  How did she do it?  She thought out what she wanted to write before she sat down and put it on paper.   So I recommend, get out that blank piece of paper or blank computer screen after you have thought out what you want to say.  Once you’ve done that, start writing.  It works.
5.  Have respect for tradition and passion for the truth .  We’ve all been told that we can’t do something the way we want to, that it hasn’t been done, that the publishers, readers, editors, etc, won’t accept it because it breaks with tradition.  Well, I believe we need to respect the tried and true, the traditional ways, but then we need to find the truth of what we want to do and go for it.  Find that passion that you once had and run with it.  The publishing world has changed so much in these last few years that sometimes it’s hard to find the traditional ways so I say, if it works for you, go for it with a passion.
6.  Confidence comes with being prepared .  Boy is that the truth.  Have you ever had to get up and speak to a crowd?  I have, and let me tell you, if I’m not prepared with notes, history, and a few things I want to talk about, it’s hard.  But if I’ve done my homework, prepared my notes, I can speak in front of people with the best of them.  So, be prepared.  Do your best.  Find passion for what you’re doing.  Confidence will follow you.
7.  The main theme of the movie I watched was:

See it Feel it
Trust it

Think about it.  If you can see it and feel it, you can trust it.  If you can trust it, you believe.  If you believe, you’ll succeed.
Have a good one! 

Thought for the Day

Life is short
Break the rules
Forgive Quickly
Kiss slowly
Love truly, laugh uncontrollably
And never regret anything that made you smile

This month is the anniversary of the death of a wonderful friend of mine, and it made me think about life and how quickly things can change.  When I read this thought, it made me think that too often I try to go by all the rules that have been pushed at me throughout my life.  Sometimes by doing so, I don't take the time to laugh and enjoy things that make me happy.  I need to find time each day for little things that I enjoy and I urge each of you to do the same.

May each of you find something that makes you happy.  Take a moment and enjoy it.  Remember to tell those you love how much you care, and then kiss them often, kiss them slowly, and don't spend time regretting the things you enjoyed.

Be happy!

I Love Books!

You know you have read a good book when you turn the last page and feel like you are saying good-bye to a friend.
       Anonymous

I love reading.  I love great books.  I love writing books.   When I read the quote that author RaeAnne Thayne put on one of her bookmarks, I knew exactly what she was saying.  When an author develops a hero and heroine that I want to cheer for, then she has done her job.  

When I finish a story, I've gotten so close to the thoughts and feelings of my characters that I hate to say goodbye to them.  Each one has their story to be told, and by the time the story is complete, I almost feel sad to move on.  But that is life.  Each day is a new challenge with its own sets of problems and discoveries.  Great books are the same, and every time I pick up a new book, I'm looking forward to meeting someone new, experiencing new places, feeling new problems, but always, I want to fall in love all over again.  I guess that's why I love romance.  Each book is unique.  Each hero and heroine have their own issues to overcome, but always, there will be a happily ever after.

So, I guess bottom line of all my rambling today is I wish you the very best.  May you find characters in your life that you just can't let go off.  May you find ways to experience new, happy things every day.  And most of all, I wish you a happily ever after.

Find a good book.  Take time to experience the love, the laughter, the tension, and the happy ever after.  It will definitely be worth your time.

You Can Do Anything

Yes, you can do anything you set your mind to.  I believe it, and you need to believe it also.

I read a small article in the March AARP bulletin and I'd like to quote it.  Great story.

Author, Author
Jim Henry conquered illiteracy in his mid-90s.  Now he's the author of a book at 98.  "Never, never give up on anything even if what you're doing feels impossible," says Henry, a retired lobsterman in Mystic, Conn.  His self-published In a Fisherman's Language recounts his life through 29 stories.  The first two printings sold out, but his website, fishermanslanguage.com, is accepting orders for a third printing.  (author unknown)

Isn't that just the best thing you've read lately?  I know sometimes I get discouraged, thinking that I started too late in life to get published.  Sometimes I spend my time envying other big name authors like James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Karen Robards, and RaeAnn Thayne.  Sometimes I feel that I just don't have the time, the energy, etc, to succeed.  But then I see something like the above article, and I kick myself back into my computer chair and start working again, because I can succeed.  So can you.

Now, I didn't say it was easy.  Hey, is anything ever easy?  Not usually.  Every dream takes some work to achieve.  Every goal requires stamina, stick-to-it desire, and work to accomplish.  Tell yourself you can do it -- and do it.  Take baby steps and soon they'll turn into giant leaps.

One of my favorite says is:

 If it is to be, it's up to me.

 I love that saying because it is so true.  Every time I think I can't, I read that and remember, I can if I want to and if I'm willing to do what it takes.

I retired after over 30 years.  All those years I dreamed of writing and seeing one of my stories in print.  I joined Romance Writers of America.  I signed up for a few classes, and I started writing. I attended some writing conferences and listened to success stories.  I fought envy and then remembered to tell my friends congratulatons.  One day I decided to submit a story.  A friend talked me into it late one night as we were working on a contest.  I bit the bullet.  Sent in the query letter.  After some rewrites, edits, and lots of work, it got published.  I jumped for joy, then sat back down and kept on writing.  I feel I'm succeeding.  So can you.

Remember:

If it is to be, it's up to me.

Repeat that over and over again.  Post it next to your computer, your easy chair, wherever you spend time and need some encouragement.  Then put a plan into action.  Take the first step.

Good luck.

Today is Release Day

TODAY IS RELEASE DAY

Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass is being released today through http://Bookstrand.com/Secrets-of-Wolf-Creek-Pass

You can obtain your copy of Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass for 10%  off for a limited time.  It's a great way to save some money and get your copy of my e-book today.

Here's a brief story blurb for Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass :

To survive the pain and loss of her own daughter's kidnapping and murder, Layne Youngman has closed her heart to everything but helping others find their missing children. As she begins her search, it appears nearly everyone has a secret.


Rhys Burke is struggling to survive a bitter divorce. When Anna disappears while in his care, he is consumed with guilt and desperate to find his daughter. What he isn't prepared for is the petite woman investigator who strikes a fire in his heart unlike anything he's ever experienced.

Together they must find a way to unravel the clues, overcome the obstacles, and concentrate on finding Anna. What they don't realize is the challenge may be more than they can handle.

The Log Line Blog

Do you love to hear about new books like I do?

Check out the Log Line Blog.  I'll be spotlighting my book, Murder and Lies , on February 23.  Stop by.  You can also find out about alot of other interesting reads while you're there. 

They have a monthly contest where they give a random commentor a $20 gift certificate to Amazon or ARe.  Don't miss out on that!

The address is:  http://theloglineblog.blogspot.com

Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass

I just got the new cover for my next story -- Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass.  Had to let everyone know that Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass will be available at Bookstrand.com in all types of electronic formats the end of this month.

Here's my cover for Secrets of Wolf Creek Pass.  What do you think?

Great Review - Murder and Lies

Don't you love getting a message with a wonderful surprise?  I got just that - a great review for my newest book, Murder and Lies.  4.5 stars from The Long and Short of It Reviews - woo hoo!


Here's a little bit of what they said:

"A matter of trust, a matter of the heart.  Murder and Lies does deliver on the suspenseful mystery, but doubly so on the feelings of the heart.  This is an absolutely gripping romance.  A must read for sure."

Here's the link - check out the entire review.

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2012/01/murder-and-lies-by-kr-bailey.html

I'm having a great day.  Hope you are too.