Erica Vetsch's Blog, page 35

Weekend Edition

  






If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Please send to Seekerville2@gmail.com. If the winner does not contact us within two weeks, another winner may be selected.


Monday: Mary was here to talk about creating characters.
Wednesday: Mindy shared some tips on how to increase your productivity as a writer.
Friday: Fun Friday offered a brain teaser. 13 opening lines to 13 books written by the Seekers! Thanks for playing everyone, it was truly a Fun Friday! The winner of the $20 Amazon Gift Certificate for the most correct answers is ... drumroll ... Tonya! 12 out of 13!!


Monday:  Carrie hosts Hannah Mae Linder today to share one thing that works for her when it comes to cover design!

Tuesday: Gabrielle Meyer will be our guest, talking about Book SWAG! And there's a giveaway!
Wednesday: Ruth Logan Herne will offer her words of wisdom with her usual style and flair!  






SOLDIER PROTECTORa 2-IN-1 featuringThe Officer's Secret and The Soldiers Sisterby Debby GiustiReleasing June 2022 Pre-order NOW!
There are a couple of fun giveaways from Erica Vetsch: 


HISTORICAL INTRIGUE GIVEAWAY ALERT! 

 Enter to win EIGHT historical intrigue novels by acclaimed authors JaimeJoWright Janyre Tromp, Author michellegriep Kelli Stuart author Erica Vetsch author Crystal Caudill Author Jocelyn Green rachelscottmcdaniel

 Winner: One grand prize winner of 8 books will be chosen at random and announced by May 22.

 Entry deadline: May 21 at 12 noon Eastern.

 Access entry form at the link in my bio or use this link to enter: https://bit.ly/Intrigue-Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of every Historical Romance finalist's book in this year's Selah Awards Contest! Enter soon, giveaway ends soon! https://bit.ly/3w7BPEV 


Coming August 23rd!Preorder your copy here

She came home to make things right. Will she be given a second chance?

Gloriana Prescott has returned to her Texas hometown to make amends—even if the townsfolk she left behind aren’t ready to forgive. But when her mother’s ranch manager, Justin Broussard, is tasked with saving the struggling rodeo so his teen daughter can compete, Gloriana sees a chance to prove she’s really changed. But can she prove to Justin, and the town, that she’s trustworthy? 

Available for preorder NOW!

Preorder here!

12 Signs Your WordPress Website Is Hacked at WPBEGINNER 
Mark Dawson Self-Publishing Formula 101 by Mark Dawson at Self Publishing Formula

The Role of the Antagonist in Story Structure by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors
Balancing History and Story in Historical Fiction by Shelly Sanders at Writers Digest
About Those New Year's Resolutions by Patricia Bradley at Learn How To Write A Novel
How to Write Your Story with a 5-Act Structure by Rebecca Jean at Writer's Edit
5 Tips for a Successful Book Signing by Lucinda Race at Book Brush blog
What Book Reviews Can Teach Us About Writing by Gina Jackson at Writers Cookbook
DIY Resources to Design a Lead Magnet Cover by Kristen Hogrefe Parnell at The Write Conversation
Storytelling Secrets by Lindi Peterson at Inspy Romance

Disclaimer: Any blog post that includes an offer of product purchase or service is NOT to be considered an endorsement by Seekerville or any of our authors  (please see our Legal page )

Fun Friday!

 

Yes, it's Fun Friday here at Seekerville where it's all about FUN! 

For today's event, we have a list of opening lines from Seeker books. They may be first lines from one of our older releases, a current release or an upcoming release. Your mission--should you choose to accept it--is to guess the author and book title for each of these story openings. The person with the most correct answers will win a $20 Amazon Gift Card. (In the event of a tie, one winner will be chosen at random)

Are you ready?

Here we go.

Noah Stoll flung a rock into Miller’s Pond and quickly reached down for another one. He repeated the action, over and over, until his throwing arm was too tired to continue.

"At least you know you can trust me." Michelle Stiles slashed a hand about an inch from Zane Hart's face. They sat in his kitchen. His roof over her head. His food in her stomach. And safety thanks to him. Still, the man was so stubborn. She wanted to help, and besides, she was bored.

He supposed that someday he would have to forgive the child for being a girl.

Heidi Martin flipped on the overhead light and looked into the eyes of a killer. 

"Sorry for the delay, folks. There's a bull train on the trail ahead of us and they're hogging the road."

It was all the weatherman's fault.

For once in his life he'd aced his two older brothers. 

Running away from an arranged marriage to the wilds of the Blue Ridge hadn’t gone as Cora Taylor expected. 

"Ninety-two and a half for Buster McKnight. Give the cowboy from Oklahoma a hand!"

Melancholy was a condition of the spirit and the soul, but also of the mind.

Excitement zinged through Paisley Wainwright like a hyperactive five-year-old jazzed on sugar. 

"I'm running out of time," Lizzie Kauffman moaned as she reached for the polishing cloth and rubbed it over the silver teapot.

Connor O’Shea braced his boots against the auction block and glared at the crowd gathered on the landing.

When leaving your guesses in the comments, simply put the coordinating number, followed by your guess for each line.
Winner will be announced tomorrow in the Weekend Edition!

Increasing Productivity

by Mindy Obenhaus

Lately I’ve been working on increasing my productivity as a writer. I’d come to a crossroads in my writing that called for a change. What I’ve been doing, the pace at which I’d been working just wasn’t sufficient anymore. So I was faced with a dilemma. Settle for the status quo or strive for something more?

I wanted more.

The big question, though, was “How?” I mean, I was already at my computer for hours each day. Granted, a good bit of that might have been spent staring at the ceiling as I struggled to write an entire scene each day. At least, a scene a day was the goal, though I rarely achieved it. Inevitably, I’d get bogged down in details. Setting, what is she wearing—

Of course, that led to an internet search and down a big old rabbit hole. And by the end of many a day, I hadn’t made much progress at all. At least, until it got down to crunch time. As that deadline approached, I buckled down and sailed through those scenes. I began to wonder why I wasn’t that disciplined all the time.

Obviously, it was time to change my approach to writing. It was right around that time Mary Connealy shared that she wrote a thousand words a day. Period. And if you’re familiar with Mary’s books, then you know just how quickly those thousand words can add up.

Hmph. “A thousand words a day,” I thought. That’s doable. So you know what I did? I tucked that little nugget into my memory and continued along the path I was on. Until I came to the afore mentioned crossroads. I did a little math. If I did a thousand words only five days a week that would be five thousand words a week. Twenty thousand words in a month.

So, I decided to make the change. I committed to those thousand words a day, five days a week. There were a couple of days I fell short, but I made them up the next day. And you know what? It worked. By the end of the month I’d written almost 24,000 words. Not only that, I found I was much more disciplined. I felt less pressure, too.

So if you’re looking to increase your productivity—

Set an achievable goal – Something that will work with your schedule. For me, a thousand words a day is maybe two-thirds to half a scene. Yet I often found that once I got going, I was more eager to finish it.

It doesn’t have to be perfect – The goal was to simply get the story out of my head. Part of my problem before, why I’d labor over each scene, was that I wanted it to be perfect. By giving myself the freedom to simply get the bones of the scene down, along with a good chunk of dialog, I was able to move on instead of getting bogged down in the details. Though often times, they still made it in there. Particularly if I had a good visual in my head.

Stick with it – This was not difficult once I saw how much progress I was making. It felt good to see that word count climb. Honestly, I’ve never really tracked my daily word count before, so that might have played a role. I’m goal oriented, so knowing I was aiming for a specific number was good for me. It was a more tangible goal than simply saying I wanted to write a scene.

Now, I’m sure many of you may be looking at this and thinking this is no big deal, that it’s what you do this all the time. In which case, I applaud you. But April 2022 was a pivotal month for this writer. And to think, I owe it all to Mary Connealy. Go figure.

Mary, I owe you a dinner. For the rest of you, give me your thoughts. Have you ever made one small change in your life that suddenly made a world of difference?

Oh, and before I go, I’ve got a brand-new cover to share with you. The Cowgirl’s Redemption is the first book in my new Hope Crossing series and releases on August 23rd. Here’s a bit about the story.

She came home to make things right. Will she be given a second chance?

Gloriana Prescott has returned to her Texas hometown to make amends—even if the townsfolk she left behind aren’t ready to forgive. But when her mother’s ranch manager, Justin Broussard, is tasked with saving the struggling rodeo so his teen daughter can compete, Gloriana sees a chance to prove she’s really changed. But can she prove to Justin, and the town, that she’s trustworthy? 

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

Five Steps to Creating Characters-Step Four

 

Five Steps to Creating Characters—Step Four

In February I talked about Make a character likeable by making someone like them. Linked below. In March I talked about Character Arcs, linked below. In April I talked about giving characters quirks, link below. 

This month I’m talking about my main characters types.

1.      Make a character likeable by making someone like them

2.     Character arcs

3.      Give them quirks

4.      My main character types

5.      Avoid backstory dumps

My main character types. This part is sort of my standard set-up. I almost always start with three main character types. But often I abandon them as part of introducing them to readers. In fiction, I stick to the main types until they become inconvenient, which is often immediately but they are my starting point.

The delicate flower

The business woman

The wild child

In the Lumber Baron’s Daughter series Book #1 heroine Laura Stiles is my Delicate Flower. Laura, her sweet, compassionate child. The blue-eyed blonde who was a fine-boned, feminine version of her father, Liam Stiles. Laura, who knew how to blow things up.

Book #2 heroine Michelle Stiles is the business woman. Michelle the leader, the calm one who took charge of the sweet Laura and the fiery Jillian, and they mostly let her. Michelle the mechanical engineer who saw all the details and made everything and everyone work together.

Book #3 heroine Jilly Stiles is the wild child. Jillian, the one with the oddly mathematical mind who made theories work. She’d been educated to build trestles across vast gorges, and build railroad tracks into the heart of a mountain. A fiery green-eyed red-head, a throw-back to her papa’s Irish grandmother.

Those three types. That’s how I start. In my current work in progress my delicate flower is a lot tougher than she looks, but then characters often differ from their surface appearance. The business woman and the wild child are a little blurry. They’re both business woman working in a man’s world. So does that make those two characters business-wild-child women? Not sure. But I write in three book series and those are my jumping off places. Business woman, or take-charge woman maybe. The delicate flower, in this case the widow of a dead lawman. She learned more from the jerk she was married to than even she realized. And the wild child. Fiery, red-headed Jillian who loathes the very idea of marriage. She won’t say why, but they know it has something to do with their stepfather.

While I usually start out with those three character types I am in no way bound by them.

http://www.maryconnealy.com

 

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER 

Miraculous Draught of Fish, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1610,
Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany. [PD-US]

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
 John 21:1-14

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

Please join us in praying for our country and for an end to the rising economy. Also, please pray for the people of Ukraine, for a halt to Russian aggression, and for the protection of our military.
GOD BLESS THE USA!
We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.  

Weekend Edition

  






If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Please send to Seekerville2@gmail.com. If the winner does not contact us within two weeks, another winner may be selected.


Monday: Erica spoke to us about when Authors Have to Speak to Real PEOPLE!
Wednesday: Cate
Friday: Surprise!


Monday:  Mary is posting--Five Steps to Creating Characters-Step Four
Wednesday:  Mindy will be in the house and who knows what she'll have up her sleeves.  Friday: Surprise!







SOLDIER PROTECTORa 2-IN-1 featuringThe Officer's Secret and The Soldiers Sisterby Debby GiustiReleasing June 2022 Pre-order NOW!







How To Reverse Outline Your Novel by Hannah Bauman at Between The Lines Editing
Do You Have to Write Every Day? By KM Wieland at Helping Writers Become Authors
5 Storytelling Skills Every Writer Should Master by John Kerr at The Novel Smithy
Speed Dating and Swag by Terry Odell at Kill Zone Blog
Fast-Writing Secrets of CS Lewis by Jim Denney at Live Write Thrive
Characteristics of a Determined Writer by DiAnn Mills at The Write Conversation
Discovering Story Magic: The X-Factor by Laura Baker at Writers In The Storm
The Foxy Writer Outwitted by Peter Leavell at Learn How To Write A Novel
What's Your Character Hiding? by Becca Puglisi at Writers Helping Writers
My Social Media Planner by Sarra Cannon at Heart Breathings
How to Worldbuild...When You Hate Worldbuilding by Kristina Adams at The Writer's Cookbook
What If You Gave Up? by Natalie Hart at Writer UnBoxed

ALL ABOUT YOU!!!!!

 So this Friday we're flippin' the switch.

We want to hear from you.

Are you a writer? Reader? Both?

If you're a reader, what are your faves? 

If you're a writer, what are your questions? Where are you in your writing journey? How can we encourage you?

This is not an easy business.

It's a rare person who makes a livable wage writing. I am blessed to be one of those people, and we have a host of authors here whose experience, wisdom and professionalism show decades of work in the industry.

We've ridden the waves of change... some drowned. Some treaded water. Some left the mainland of writing completely and that's okay.

This job/business/career isn't for everyone.

You need motivation. You need self-discipline. You need time. You need something to pay the bills until writing pays off. Those things can be daunting, right?

But mostly you need the determination to stick it out, to work, edit, work some more, then edit some more. 

But in the end, to quote my buddy Lenora Worth, on the very worst day I have the very best job possible.  And I love it. I love creating stories and story worlds.

So what about you, writers and readers?

THIS IS YOUR DAY! 

Let us know what you like, where you're at, what your dreams and aspirations are... and let's have fun together! We have another package of those awesome cookies for you! 

Leave a comment below and we're putting you into the drawing! 

Writing (and Praying) Through the Hard Times - Cate's Favorite Craft Books

 It seems everywhere I turn in the writing world lately, someone is doing a podcast, writing a blog post, or offering a workshop on how to write through difficult times.

It makes sense, after all, given the past two years. 

Most of this advice is meant for the difficult times on a personal level - family struggles, illness, job loss, etc. Certainly the uncertainty of a pandemic, inflation, threats of recession can scramble your ability to concentrate as well.

Difficulty focusing in times of great personal distress is a real thing. Like with scientific explanations. 😎😎

In  an odd way I find that comforting, like a reassurance that I'm not simply making excuses. I mean if the difficulty focusing is a more widely known phenomena, then  don't have to feel as guilty for struggling. I'm in good company.

Alas, that doesn't get proposals sent, books written, or careers kept on track.

So what do all these workshops have to offer?

If we're lucky, we might hear something that clicks, a word or phrase that unlocks us.

But because we are Christian writers we have another resource to help us when we're struggling.

                                                                               PRAYER

As I was going through the still as-yet unpacked boxes to find the craft book I wanted to post about. I found this instead.

This lovely book is full of wonderful reminders of God's love for us, and is is overflowing with wonderful prayers, offered over centuries, that will perhaps allow us to gain strength and the courage to fight through the brain fog.

No post on writers' prayers would be complete without me including out own Debby's Writer's Prayer. 

So many writers struggle with the demons of doubt and inadequacy. Too often we are paralyzed by our inability to focus or be productive. 

It is good to remember to pray that God will give us the strength to maintain the ministry he gave us.

A Writer's Prayer

Lord, inspire me to write stories that touch readers' hearts.  Breathe your spirit into my characters so they come alive on the written page.  Help me develop intriguing plots full of twists and turns that capture the imagination and move the story to a satisfying resolution.  Keep me focused and on schedule, and take away any fear or sense of inadequacy that blocks my progress.  Give me courage to step out in faith, to stretch and grow and to be the writer you have called me to be.
Amen.
Written by Debby Giusti

So many writers struggle with the demons of doubt and inadequacy. Too often we are paralyzed by our inability to focus or be productive. 

It is good to remember to pray that God will give us the strength to maintain the ministry he entrusted to us.

How do you cope when writing gets you down?  Do you have a go-to prayer or a way of resetting your focus?

Talk to Real People? Me? 5 Tips for Making Your Speaking Engagement a Success

Erica here with you today. Last night, I was the guest speaker at the ACFW MN NICE chapter. I've spoken to this group (It's MY local ACFW Group after all) several times. I've spoken at writer retreats, writing conferences, book promotion events, and book clubs.

And every time I say, "Sure, I'd love to!" when someone asks, I almost immediately think...WHY? WHY DID YOU SAY YES?

But most of the time, after I'm done with my workshop or talk, I am glad I said yes. It's the windup that gets me wound up, if you know what I mean.

Authors aren't always natural presenters or speakers, though, if we have time to edit what we want to say, we can come across as pretty smart. :)

If you find yourself in a similar situation, having agreed to talk to a group of readers or fellow writers, here are a few tips I've found that help me prepare.

1. Get all the details.

Find out who you are speaking to, so you can know how to gear your talk. Is it newbie writers? Experienced writers? Readers? Is this a teaching opportunity, or more of a conversational talk? Find out how long you're expected to hold everyone's attention. Find out if they have audio-visual equipment available. Also, make sure you have the contact information of your point person. Make certain you know the time and the location. Ask for a rough head-count, esp. if you're bringing swag or handouts. Also, get clear information about whether you'll be compensated, paid for gasoline, or if you're doing this out of the goodness of your generous heart.

2. Prepare visuals.

If they have a projector you can hook up to and a blank wall or screen, great! Prepare some photographs, slides, or other visual aids. This will help keep the audience interested and you on track. If there is no provision for projecting images, bring object lessons. I do a workshop on how to make a plot board, and I bring along a kit for making a plot board, using the bits as examples as I go along, and in the end, someone in the audience wins the kit. Folks seem to enjoy when you bring something other than yourself to look at. :)

3. Dress comfortably.

Not in sweats and a t-shirt! (Don't I wish!) but something in which you feel confident, and that you've tried and tested. Have your husband, wife, kid, significant other, take your photograph in your outfit, so you can judge how it looks. If all else fails, a pair of black slacks, a colorful shirt, and a black jacket always work. If you're like me, and necklaces drive you bonkers, don't wear one. Find comfortable shoes, because the last thing you want to have to think about is your aching piggies while you're trying to sound intelligent.

4. Leave room for a Q&A

I love this portion of any talk I give. Audiences are inquisitive and creative, and if you're talk is a bit short for the time allotted, you can stretch a question/answer time out. If no one has a question, then you ask a few of your own. That can get the ball rolling. 

5. Practice your talk.

Practice your talk, out loud, with your notes and slides or visuals. Write notes on your notes to remind you to slow down, to take a breath instead of saying 'um.' Practice using your PowerPoint in presentation mode. Write yourself some notes about how you're going to open the talk, and how you plan to close it. Just practice. The more times you go through it, the smoother it will be when it's time to unveil it before people.

BONUS TIP: Remember to say thank you to the audience, the organizers, whoever invited you to speak. It's nice manners.

Question for you: What do you like in a speaker? What do you like and dislike about public speaking?

Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series

Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn't spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They've been living double lives as government spies--and they're only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family's legacy.

Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors--not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.

Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents' last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?

The Debutante's Code is now out in the world! You can get your copy HERE: https://amzn.to/3GQnoZt Or wherever you buy your fiction! 


Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she is married to her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!

 

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio, 1601-1602,
Sanssourci Picture Gallery, Germany. [PD-US]

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

John 20:19-31

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

Please join us in praying for our country and for an end to the rising economy. Also, please pray for the people of Ukraine, for a halt to Russian aggression, and for the protection of our military.

GOD BLESS THE USA!