Sunday evening…

As I sit here on my patio working on my latest work in progress I can here the birds singing happily, the pool filter humming, the mosquitos buzzing around my head and then the whisper of a late evening breeze through the tres.

My weekend has been a busy one. We spent yesterday at my husbands sister’s place on a lake about an hour and a half from home. It was really nice to just sit around talking and eating. We got in the water for a while and rode in the boat. We just rested.

Then today after Church my mom picked up our son so he could spend the week at her lake house. Now it’s lonely. It’s amazing how lonely you feel when your child is not around. Normally on a summer evening he’s in the pool or riding the four wheeler back and forth, but this evening it’s just quiet.

I became inspired this afternoon as a short summer storm came through to finish the historical romance that I started last summer. It’s based in the Georgia and it’s spans the pre civil war period and beyond. I’m really excited to get into it. I love history, always have. If there’s a historical place anywhere I want to see it. My husband just laughs at me, but he still gets dragged to where ever.

I hope to start the cover tommorow. You may be saying why start the cover when you haven’t finished the book, well, I have it pictured in my mind and while it’s fresh I have to jump on it.

As for now, I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoy the last few hours of Sunday, for tomorrow is Monday 😦

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Sneek Peek Friday…

I’m super excited that my 2nd book in the “Lean On Him” series is almost completed. The cover is almost completely ready. I’ll do a cover reveal on Monday, which I can’t wait to do. It’s so simple but yet says it all.

This series is my Christian Romance series and it covers emotions and life changing experiences. The difference is every experience is handled with Faith in God. It shows how faith can waver and give you pause. The books are meant to inspire and hopefully raise you to a new level of spiritual awakening.

Here is an excerpt from “Faith Through The Tears”, Hope you like it 🙂

The first night she was admitted into the hospital this time she told him to tell Amanda to come see her. She needed stationary and a pen. He was a little confused because they had a will. But he called Amanda and she came in fifteen minutes later.

She grabbed Rachel’s hand and smiled. “Hello my friend. How are you tonight?” It tore Amanda’s heart just watching her friend suffering. Rachel had become a great friend since her marriage to Luke. Since Randy and Luke worked the same shift, Amanda spent a lot of time with Rachel and the girls.

“I’m not good Amanda. I know the Lord is getting ready to call me home.” A tear slipped from her eye as she tried to be strong. This was so hard, not the dying but the knowledge that her little girls would not have a mommy.

Amanda put her hand to her mouth to stifle the sob that surged forward. “Rachel, don’t talk like that. You’re strong and I know you’re going to beat this again.” Rachel closed her eyes and squeezed her hand.

“Not this time. He came to me in a dream and told me to get things prepared. I’m not afraid. I’ve been ready since the day I gave my heart to Him.” She got quiet for a moment and then took a deep breath. “I need you to help me do something special for the girls.”

“Anything, I will do anything you need me to do.” She pulled the chair up to the side of the bed.

“Did you bring the items I asked for?”

Pulling them from her purse, she handed them to Rachel. “I had some really pretty stationary with roses on it. It made me think of your rose garden at the back of the house.”

“Will you help me write letters to the girls? I need you to write them as my hand shakes too badly. I would’ve asked Randy, but you know his handwriting. The girls would have never figured it out.” She tried to laugh, but she wound up coughing instead.

“Just tell me what to write.” Her heart was so heavy. To think this poor mother was having to compose a goodbye letter to her two precious girls. This was almost too much to bear. She had asked Luke last night why God was taking such a precious person when she had so much to live for. He’d held her as she’d cried and he told her something that she knew but refused to admit. The Lord has His reasons and it’s not for us to ask why.

Slowly Rachel recited the letters to Amanda. She stopped several times to get her composure. Amanda wiped at her eyes constantly. The letters were so sweet. She’d written three for each of the girls. One letter was for after the funeral, one was for the day they graduated from school and the third was for the day they got married. She’d thought of everything.

When she was done, she smiled and seemed to relax. “Now I can be there with my girls for their big days. One more thing I need to ask of you. Will you make sure that they know about girlie things like dance class and dolls. I know Randy will do his best, but you’ve seen how their hair looks after he gets through with it.” She managed a good hearty laugh then. It was good to hear that laugh. Amanda held it locked inside for future daydreams.

“The girls will carry you in their hearts as long as they live. I will definitely be a part of their lives and make sure they have matching clothes and ballerina classes. Don’t worry. They will be well taken care of.” She reached over and hugged her close. This was hard losing a close friend.

Well, that’s just a snippet. I can tell you this, I’ve gone through a lot of tissues while writing this one. It’s been emotionally draining, but it’s also satisfying. The words have flowed as quickly as the tears, but most of the tears are of joy.

I’ll keep everyone updated on the release and Monday will be the cover release…

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

How do you take it?

Take what? Well as I fixed my first cup of coffee this morning I had a thought. We’re all different. Some like their coffee high octane, completely black with no cream or sugar just straight coffee. Some like artificial sweetners and cream. Some like real sugar and no cream. As for me, I take it with one pack of Splenda and a little french vanilla creamer. That’s what it takes to get me going…

It’s the same with reading. As a writer I’ve come to know so many different types of writing. It’s amazing how many genres of writing there is. In romance you can find so many genres. I sat and tried to figure them all out. What’s hard is to figure out which one your work fits in.

I’ve had to learn what heat levels meant. That was fun. I’ve had to learn what tags were and how they relate to your work. Some readers only read certain heat levels or from certain tags. It’s always interesting to look at the percentages.

I had a reviewer tell me one of my books would have been better if it would have been given some tequila and heated up. She gave me a great review, but thought it needed more heated scenes. As you know, I write my books on a lower heat level.

My editor laughs when I see a new genre come out and I have to go what’s that. Especially if it’s a abreviation. Sometimes I’m sorry I ask the meaning 🙂 But my opinion is this. Everyone needs something different and that’s what makes the writing world go round. If we all wrote in the same genre and heat level, it would get really boring and we’d be out of business really quick.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday night writing…

Monday is always crazy in my office. Today was no exception. I worked a little later than usual and then did my 4-1/2 mile walk. Now I’m sitting down finally and getting ready to work on the last part of my latest manuscript.

It’s funny how you need more than 24 hours in a day. Especially if you’re a writer. Sometimes I’m just getting into my good writing mode when everyone else is heading to bed. When I was younger I could easily pull an all nighter, but the older I get that doesn’t seem as apealing.

Since I have a couple of deadlines regarding my writing, I guess I’ll be put in some midnight oil. It’s going to be a great writing evening. My hubby and son went fishing and left me alone for a couple of hours. I can usually write through anything going on around me. It’s as though I get into a world of my own.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Here’s to good writing and May God Bless You…

Agent or not?

I read this really interesting article in my latest issue of “Poets & Writers”. It was about hiring an agent for your writing. I’ve played with this issue for quite a while. I had a great conversation with an agent no too long ago that enlightened me.

For one thing the agent said, some of the things that they would do for me I already do. Am I ready to give up some of my rights as a writer? Would it be a good thing to have an agent that took care of all the things I’ve done for myself. At this point I think not.

I do think at some time or another I might play with the prospect. Now if an agent comes to me with a deal I can’t refuse don’t think I won’t jump. I just don’t want to jump into something and then regret it later.

The article also discussed talking to new agents in the business. They said it would probably be beneficial and quicker than going with someone that’s already bogged down with other writers.

Let me know your experiences with agents. Were they good or bad? Would you recommend it or not?

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Thinking it’s dead doesn’t make it dead,,,

As I worked in my flower bed this evening I came upon a plant that I thought had died. It was all brown on top and just plain out looked horrible. I was getting ready to dig it up and throw it out, but under the dead, ugly top stems was beautiful lush green leaves. I sat back and grinned. I was glad because I loved that plant.

Writing can be the same way. Sometimes you start out really into a story and it just totally dies. I had a couple of stories that this has happened to. I’d have a really strong feeling about it and then after a couple of chapters the vibe would totally leave me.

But the other day I had one of the stories wonder into my head. The more I thought about it the more I had to sit down and work on it. Well I added several chapters and and working on a finishing touch. Of course my editor is going to strangle me because I have a couple of manuscripts that need to be finished and I’m polishing them up as we speak.

So, my point is this, if you have a manuscript that you’ve had to put down because of lack of interest, don’t throw it out. Just put it out of sight for a little while and it may come back to you. I feel that any story that comes to you is important and meant to be written. It just needs a little tender loving care. Maybe it only needs a little pruning 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Location…Where is your book based?

One of the difficult things in writing is decide where the books characters and the story takes place. Is it in the US or maybe the UK? Is the story based in a place covered in snow or in the desert? Sometimes when the story comes easily it’s not always clear the location. Your brain tells you what the character is doing but not where it is.

An important point to remember is to make sure you stick with the location you start with. Also if you’re basing your book in a place you’ve never been you might better do your homework. What I mean is the you don’t want to have your character going through the desert in Boston. Just wouldn’t go well. You might receive some interesting reviews 🙂

If your character is going snow skiing, you might want to make sure the place has snow. So, as you work on the outline of your story make sure you write down the location and keep it straight.

This was just a quickie post for Thursday evening. Hope all is well and just think, tomorrow is Friday…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Writing…

For me writing is a way to release stress and get the thoughts in my head out. I’ve always been a dreamer. Even as a child I could spin a story in my head. My teachers always would ask where I came up with the stories I’d write for assignments. I’d laugh and say out of my brain. My grandfather wanted me to be a journalist, which is what I wanted to be for a long time.

It’s funny how things change. As life starts to take over you make decisions and some are good and others you spend the rest of your life shaking your head at your own stupidity. Well, if I’d gone with my gut instinct writing would’ve been my career from the start. I’ve been writing stories since I was around 13 years old. I was also trained in classical piano and organ. I always dreamed of playing for a huge orchestra somewhere in Europe. Oh well, dreams of the youth. I started painting around the same time. I’ve sold a couple of my paintings but nothing to brag about.

Again, it’s funny how life takes over. In college I took a liking to Accounting and it was all over for the journalism and music. I decided to get a “safe” career. Not that working with the IRS and their ever changing rules is safe, but it seemed the thing to do. Accounting has given us a comfortable life and running my own accounting firm has afforded me the luxury of keeping my son close and always being able to go to all his ball games and such.

Now that I’m writing, it’s been such a rewarding aspect of my life. I’ve met some of the nicest people from all over the world. The support that other authors give you is awesome. I may never be on the New York Times Bestseller list, but I have the knowledge that I’ve put my work out there and gotten some great response to it. Maybe one day I can retire my calculator and replace it with a laptop, but for now I’ll enjoy all the aspects of my life.

A couple of aspects of my life that will never change is that I’m a mom, wife, children’s minister and a servant in my Church. Even if I was to get to the next level with my writing those things still hold on. Life’s short and you need to make sure you live it to the fullest. The Lord doesn’t promise you tomorrow so live today and enjoy it. If you have a talent, then use it for good. Make someone smile or laugh, maybe even inspire someone for a moment. Don’t let it go to waste.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Make your writing stand out…

How are your sales? Do they fluctuate or flounder?

One thing that could be happening is you don’t stand out from the thousands of other writers in your genre. I’ve noticed in the romance genre that you have to stand out to be noticed. Here are a couple of ways to make your book stand out and take the lead:

1: Cover – Your cover is very important. If it’s bland and not eye catching most of the time a reader will pass it by. Make sure that this is a part of your book that you pay for the better images and use the more unique fonts. Don’t just use the font you find on Word. Go onto a font site and grab a really cool one.

2. Description – You have to make your description a cliff hanger. Don’t give away too much but do give away enough to get the reader interested. Maybe even write it in the main characters point of view. If you put a lot of thought and energy in your description it will pop.

3. The first page – You may be saying why is this important. Well if you offer a free sample that’s the first impression the reader will get of your writing. Make sure the first few sentences draw in the reader. You don’t want a lot of back story in the first page or two. Make it catchy and mysterious.

This is just three things that can help bring your book to the forefront. Try these out and see how it helps you.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Horseshoe Publishing

Well, I guess you can figure this one out. Along with my editor/cover designer I’ve started a publishing business. It’s been on my mind for quite a while and now it’s getting into the final stages. I’m very excited about this new venture. As this has been evolving I’ve been rethinking several aspects of my life and career.

As my husband always says, “Babe, you’ve hit on something here and I think you need to go for it.” I’ve sat back and thought about this for a long while. My knees are very bruised and sore from praying about this and it’s funny how the good Lord answers prayers. All of a sudden I’m having authors asking me about helping them with their books.

This business will help authors get their works polished and ready for publishing. We will be helping with Book Cover Design, Editing, Press Release, Book Trailer Design, and Social Media Setup. Somewhere down the road we will delve into getting you published on different sites and handling royalties, but for now it’s the polishing process.

We’ve set up a blog for the company over at www.horseshoepublishing.wordpress.com.

Go on over and check it out… Don’t worry, I’m still writing. I’ve already helped one author design her cover and we will be editing the book and designing the book trailer and press release. The author is already a social media friend. Her new book cover has been featured on her blog at www.vsteeleauthor.wordpress.com.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…