One more day until the tour!

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Heads up romance readers! Tomorrow, September 1st is the start of the third annual Romancing September Across the World Blog Tour. Rosie Amber and I will be doing posts for 30 romance authors. Rosie’s will be first in the morning on UK time and mine later on US time. It’s looking to be a great tour this year.

We start tomorrow with Bestselling author Melissa Foster. Here’s the list of great authors that we will be featuring:

30 Authors, 30 Days, 2 locations.

Here is the line-up;

September 1st – Melissa Foster with Taken by Love

September 2nd – Helen Hollick with Sea Witch

September 3rd – Linda Lee Williams with Old Town Nights

September 4th – Michelle Betham with Shirley Valentine goes to Vegas

September 5th – Georgina Troy with A Jersey Dreamboat

September 6th – V. Steele with How My Cowboy Loves Me

September 7th – Pamela Beckford with Love Aflame

September 8th – E.L.Lindley with Blood Money

September 9th – F.J. Thomas with Lost Betrayal

September 10th – Lizzie Lamb with Scotch On The Rocks

September 11th – Adrienne Vaughan with Secrets Of The Heart

September 12th – Monica La Porta with The Lonely Wolf

September 13th – Margaret Cullingford with Twins Of A Gazelle

September 14th – Nicky Wells with 7 Years Bad Sex

September 15th – Felicia Myers with A Fake Engagement, A Real Wedding

September 16th – Zee Monodee with Whisk Me Up

September 17th – Kimberley Wenzler with Both Sides Of Love

September 18th – Daisy Banks with Christmas Carols

September 19th – Joanne Phillips with Cupid’s Way

September 20th – Sonya Loveday & Candace knoebel with Love Always

September 21st – Della Connor with The Burning

September 22nd – Hilda Vaughan with Here Are Lovers

September 23rd – Bethan Darwin with Two Times Twenty

September 24th – Lorraine Jenkin with Chocolate Mousse & Two Spoons

September 25th – Annie Crux with The Lavender House Mob

September 26th – Sam Cheever with Slow Burner

September 27th – Jane Cable with The Faerie Tree

September 28th – Jane Linfoot with The Vintage Cinema Club

September 29th – Olga Miret with I Love Cupcakes

September 30th – Marcia Meara with Wake Robin Ridge

So, mark your calendars and set your timers, it’s going to be a romance filled ride…

As for me, I have exciting news! Chase is now in the hands of my Editor Kaleigh. Yep, I typed over 8000 words Saturday to wrap his story up. He’s on preorder over at Amazon and will be officially released on September 26th!

http://www.amazon.com/Chase-Five-Oaks-Ranch-Book-ebook/dp/B014OQA6V8

Don’t forget to head over to Wattpad to vote on Tuscany! https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/48304085-tuscany

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

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Coffee, love, laughter…

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Good Saturday morning all! How do you like one of my new rugs? I’m super excited about this one. Can you see why? If you’ve been reading my posts for the last three years then you know why. Hint, there’s three of them… Did you figure it out yet?

This morning as soon as I opened my eyes it was evident the rain was here. So much for some yard work this morning, but I can’t complain because we need the rain. Saturdays at our house are for cleaning and writing. For some reason this week and I’m still a little confused about this one, I actually finished most of my laundry early. That means more time for writing today 😉

If you haven’t checked out my Wattpad entry, then run, don’t walk over there. Votes and views are important for this one. I also enjoy the commments. As a firm believer in the close knit writer community, I want to hear from you. One friend has already helped out by pointing out something that needed tweaking. I’m ever grateful for that too! When someone that doesn’t see the story from your head makes an observation, then you can see it clearer.

Also, for you Five Oaks Ranch fans I have a nifty little surprise that I slipped in this week when you weren’t looking. Ridge is free on most sites for a while. With Chase riding on the heels of publication I had to get some things happening. The downloads have been pouring in, which means there’s an interest in catching up. As I’ve said before, i can’t wait for you to meet Chase, my favorite of the Cauthen brood.

So, what’s your plans for today? Writing? Cleaning? Just being alive? For me, all of the above! My advice for you on this rainy Georgia day, drink a pot of coffee, hug someone you love and laugh a lot…

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/48304085-tuscany

One more thing before you go! When Tuscany’s entry on Wattpad reaches 25 views I’ll be doing a sweet giveaway, then at 50 and 100! So pass the word around and give me some reader/writer love!

Thursday morning News…

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Good Thursday morning everyone! I’ve been telling you about a manuscript that has been in the works. I know I’ve been a little secretive about this one, but I wanted to make sure that the concept worked. Well the outline is complete and I see the whole story in my mind and I feel it in my heart, if only my fingers typed as fast as my brain tells the story.

The exciting thing is I made the decision yesterday to enter it in the So You Think You Can Write contest over at Harlequin and Wattpad. This was a hard decision because this manuscript is not complete yet. That means that I have to hit the 50,000 word mark in less than a month. Good grief! But I need a little help from me peeps here. If you get a chance, could you please go over to the link, https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/48304085-tuscany, and let me know what you think. Please be honest. If you like it then please vote for it because the more votes I get the better chance I have of getting past round one.

I’ve entered this contest before and had great results. Two years ago I entered “Finding the Right Time” in this contest and made it past round two. That was exciting. I received so many great responses for that book on the contest site.

Another bit of news is that Chase is almost completed. For those of you following the “Five Oaks Ranch” series, then you know this is the one I’ve been so excited about. Chase is the rogue of the Cauthen brood and his story has pulled at me harder than any of the other ones. I can’t wait for you to meet this stubborn cowboy. You’ll fall in love instantly.

Just a reminder, today is Thursday people, that means the weekend is almost here. Since my son started back to school Monday, I’ve been getting up earlier, so I can’t wait to sleep in Saturday. Not that I will, my body wants up at seven, even on Saturdays.

So, as always, good writing and May God Bless You!

P.S. Go by my website and sign up for my newsletter or even my street team. The link is www.stephaniehurtauthor.com. So sign up today for your chance at some great prizes. If you join my street team you’ll get to see chapters before they’re published and so much more. Also I have some great swag and book giveaways planned for the near future.

Top ten reasons I love being a Georgia girl!

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If you haven’t figured it out yet by my posts I’m a Georgia girl. Since you can’t hear me talk on here, you’d have to figure it out by my way of expressing myself. I have a definite southern tone that humors my clients not from the south. They call sometimes just to hear me talk which is hilarious. This is just the way I talk, nothing special.

Well, if you’ve never been to Georgia, let me enlighten you on the great things about my home state.

  1. We may have high humidity, but you can’t beat the weather in Georgia. You can wear shorts up until October most years and the winters can be mild. Don’t get me wrong, it can get down right cold here too and not to mention really hot in the summer, but it’s Georgia.
  2. The terrain varies from Mountains, plains, beaches, and even swamps. We’ve got it all! If you want it we’ll show it to you with southern flare and manners, well mostly 😉
  3. Oh yeah, did you know that Georgia is becoming a second Hollywood. Because of our vast terrains and many attributes, the film industry is seeking our state out. Some of my favorites were filmed here. Just to name a few: Vampire Diaries, In the Heat of the Night, Smokey and the Bandit, Dukes of Hazzard, My Cousin Vinny, Sweet Home Alabama, Forest Gump, Madea of any kind, and so many more it’s crazy. You can’t throw a stone here without hitting someone famous, which is really cool. So many things have been filmed within a few miles of my home. It’s crazy how fast we became a studio state.
  4. Savannah – if you’ve read any of my books, then you’ve heard that city mentioned. It’s one of my favorites. Since I’m a history lover, why not? Savannah is rich with history and you feel it as soon as you step on the soil of the beautiful old city.
  5. Peaches – If you haven’t had a good sweet juicy Georgia peach then you’ve missed out. There’s nothing like biting into a peach and the juice just runs down your face. Some Georgians eat it with the peeling on, but not me.
  6. Southern hospitality – It’s not completely dead. Most of us still like to make strangers feel right at home with our southern charm.
  7. Sweet Tea – ahhhh yes, who can forget our sweet tea. Yes, the sweeter the better. Even on my diet I keep the sweet tea handy. Try it, you’ll love it.
  8. Let’s talk country music for a minute. Luke Bryan for instance, oh did I mention he’s a Georgia boy. Not to leave out Jason Aldean, Doug Stone, John Berry (Met him at our Church during his concert, awesome man), Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson, the list could go on.
  9. My favorite movie was about Georgia and written by a Georgia woman – Gone With The Wind. The love story pulls me in every time. There’s something about a forbidden love that just makes for a good movie.
  10. Last but not least, it’s my home. I’m proud to say I’m a Georgia girl. The moment I come back from a trip, the sign that says, Welcome to Georgia, always makes me smile. I’m home!

So, do you want to experience Georgia? If you get a chance come by and visit our state. You might see a star, famous singer or just grab a glass of sweet tea and slice of peach pie.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Writer Courses: yes or no?

It’s Monday people! Why is Monday such a horrible day most weeks? Shouldn’t we be rested up from the weekend? I don’t know about you, but Monday’s always seem to pull at me. For some reason Monday’s make me tired, and I have four more work days to go!

Well, on to the reason for today’s post. Have you taken a writer’s course lately? Over the weekend I took a writer’s course and I have to say it was quite enjoyable. I learned more than I expected and it wasn’t even boring. Sometimes we try to go in the other direction when it’s time to learn something new, but guess what, it’s time to try new things. The course was a series of videos that taught about writing, of course!

My suggestion to you is this, go for it! If you’re bored out of your mind and don’t seem to be learning anything, then move on, but if you start listening intently and learn something, then your time hasn’t been wasted. If I get permission to let you in on the free course that I took, I’ll definitely post the link here. Let’s just say I plan on using what I learned and hopefully if anything, I can pass on the results here.

So, get on with your Monday, and remember at least you made it to Monday!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Clicking On and Off…

Writing doesn’t work like a light switch. You can’t just switch it on and off at your whim, can you? I sometimes struggle with writer’s block. It feels as though the writer in me has been turned off, but it wasn’t my choice. Some days this scares me because I love to write, what if it doesn’t flip back on?  So, what controls your switch? Good question huh!

I’ve worked on this question for a while and here’s what I came up with. It’s not an exact science, but it makes sense, for me that is.

Life controls my switch a good bit of the time. I’ve realized that when something is going on in my life, usually something stressful, life turns the switch off. No matter how hard I try, what comes out of my mind through my fingers isn’t satisfying. So, control the stress, keep the switch on. Easier said than done.

Guess what else controls your switch, other story characters. I noticed that when I decide to work on just one story, another story’s character steps in and holds the switch. It’s as though they’re saying, ‘work on my story or the switch goes off, your choice’. The only way to deal with this is to at least give the other story a few lines, then the switch is untouched.

Does this sound crazy? Think about it. How many times has your switch went off and you struggled to get it back on? Did you have something going on or was there another story pushing at you? Now you’re seeing what I’m talking about.

Try to push stress out when it starts in and give the other characters looming in your brain a little love, it might help.

What flips your switch?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S. If you get a chance, come by and join my Street Team. I some special prizes inside the Street Team portal that you might enjoy. Go to www.stephaniehurtauthor.com and follow the instructions, it’s easy and fun…

Learning from others…

Good Monday morning! It’s drizzling rain here in Georgia, but that’s alright, we need it. Also since it’s Monday it kind of meets with my mood.

Today I want to talk about how you train as a writer. Some people say, ‘it’s easy to write, anyone can do it’, but that’s not the case. Writing takes more than you think to get from start to finish. You can sit down and write an idea for what you want, but it takes more than just an idea to get the full story. I’ve had ideas before and thought they’d be good, but they didn’t have enough filler to actually make a book.

I like to study what my favorite authors do. You may be asking what I mean, well it’s quite simple. I read lots of books in the genre I write. As I read, I’m looking at the sentence structure, paragraph lengths, the setup of the characterizations and the way the book is brought to the end. It’s amazing what you can learn from doing something you love, reading.

Then of course I read posts from other authors, writing magazines and even study courses. So, do you still think it’s all that easy? I’ve learned more English in the last three years that I’ve been publishing, not just writing. English skills are very important when you’re writing. Hey, I was thinking backwards for a while, but once you get into the business you realize, it’s more than just words on paper.

Several authors I follow have businesses that help other authors. All authors should want to help each other. It’s amazing the things you can learn from other authors about their own mistakes and how to correct them. I also join many Facebook writing groups, which just by reading them daily I can learn so much. Try it, you won’t regret it.

So, do you learn from other authors? If you’re struggling with something in your writing, there’s always someone out there or an article that can help you out.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you….

Street Team

BannerHey bloggers! It’s Kaleigh again!

The Street Team is getting a good response and I want to thank everyone who signed up for it! For the next few days ONLY the first chapter of Chase (the 3rd book in the 5 Oaks Ranch series) will be on the street team page for anyone that has joined! I will have to be taking it down next week because Stephanie has provided me with some awesome new information that needs to be put on the site.

Also, make sure that you are referring people! If you refer someone and they let me know you will be eligible for an ARC of Chase before it is available to anyone else! So make sure you are signing up for the Street Team and telling everyone else about it!

Just go to http://www.stephaniehurtauthor.com/#!street-team/cdmb and it is so easy to sign up! We will approve you and then you will be able to view the newest and juiciest new from Stephanie! If you have signed up and did not receive your awesome welcome package please go back and make sure that you sign up for the Street Team and not the subscription to Stephanie’s author newsletter. If you have signed up for the Street Team you should be asked for a password and I will have confirmed your membership!

Have a great day,

Kaleigh

Editing, it’s very important!

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Good Tuesday morning! It’s nice to be back in a regular schedule. Vacations are really nice and relaxing, but then I start losing track of my days and that makes my brain turn to jelly. Not good when I’m on two book deadlines, and have accounting to catch up on.

While on vacation I downloaded three books to my Kindle to read while at the beach. I was so excited about one of the books, but as I started the first page things didn’t sound right. I struggled through a couple more pages and put it down, thinking I was sleepy. I picked it up the next day and more of the same. The story line was really great, but the writing or rather the editing was bad.

I’ve heard authors say they found books that were hard to read because of the poor reading, but usually I can muddle through. This one wasn’t like that and the sad thing is the book is by an author that I really like and have read before. It has me thinking really hard about my editing process. I’m constantly reading articles about editing and writing which helps keep me educated on the craft. This book would have been covered in red marks and comments. But I really wanted to find out what happened to the two characters. Eventually I’ll pick it back up and try again.

Some may ask if I plan on putting a bad review on this book. The answer is no! I don’t believe in downgrading an author, especially one that’s written some great books. It’s very possible that this book was downloaded from the wrong file. I did that with a reviewer one time. Now that was embarrassing. I might send her a email and inquire if she’s checked the finished and published product. I just don’t like to be negative to my fellow authors. We’re all in this craft together and should support one another, not tear one another down.

So, do you make sure that your editing process is what it needs to be? Also, make sure if you’re paying an editor, double check their work too. Everyone can miss something, even the experts.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…