The journey of a writer.

Have you ever wondered why you became a writer? Maybe you had an idea one day that was interesting and you decided to expand on it. Maybe you experience something in life that you felt others would like to hear about. Maybe you just simply love to write.

I started writing when I was a teenager and we won’t discuss how long ago that was. My grandfather wanted me to be a journalist. It got me to thinking about all the stories that ran around in my head. Sometimes I would spend most of the day in my room making notes or filling a notebook with words that came so easily. I just filed those away and went on to the next adventure.

My assistant was cleaning my old desk one day and found those old manuscripts. Some of them were written in pencil and had faded, but you could still see the words. Some were typed on an old typewriter. It actually brought back memories of sitting at a typewriter with the bottle of whiteout beside me. My typing skills came later.

Being a writer means different things to different people. For me it is a stress reliever. I get so relaxed when I’m emptying my brain on the screen. Sometimes, like yesterday, the words just flow from my fingers. Sometimes I get frustrated that I can’t type as fast as the words come. Sometimes I get way ahead of my fingers and I marvel at the fact that my fingers remember the words. It gives me pleasure when I finish a manuscript and look at it.

I know that some people may not like my style of writing, but that’s ok with me. Through reviews I’ve found that some people do like my writing. I’m not in it to become rich because I’ve done my research and I know that’s a one in a million chance. At least I can dream about it though.

My writing experiences have been fun. Sometimes it’s just fun to go back and read what I wrote years ago. My latest novel was started several years ago and all that was written was the first chapter. I don’t even remember why I stopped, but I’m glad I finished it. It was found by my assistant on a 3-1/2″ floppy. That tells you how old it was.

So, if you love writing keep it up. If you love experiencing the agony of marketing keep doing it. If you love the challenge of watching your sales numbers and not going nuts keep it up.

As always, good writing and may God bless you!

As Promised, The Ark!

As promised, a pic of me as “the ark” last night at “Trunk or Treat”. It was extremely cold so I had on three shirts and everybody laughed and said if I fell I would bounce I was so padded. I could hardly move my arms due to the thickness of the shirts.

It was a great night. We had a lot of Trick or Treaters. They were awesome and made me feel like a job well done. As you can tell in the background we served food. That was a popular area.

Hope everyone had a wonderful and Safe Halloween. Also still praying for those of our friends up north that are still dealing with “SANDY”. Our thoughts and prayers are with them in this awful time.

Halloween not just for the kiddies!

I’ve always loved Halloween. The main reason is I get to act like a kid for a whole day. Well, tonight’s the “Trunk or Treat” at our Church and you got it, me being the Children’s Minister I’m in charge. Also being the Children’s Minister I get to totally go crazy with my costume. I’ve got to totally blow the kid’s minds. Well here are the last three years costumes.

1: Human Pumpkin (Had the smart idea of coloring my face with orange eye shadow. Guess what? It does not come off with soap and water. We had Church the next day and I had to go with an orange face.)

2: Hunter – That was fun. I dressed in my husband’s hunting clothes and I stayed warm all night.

3: Bouquet of Balloons – That was hilarious until someone located the pins inside the Church. I safety pinned blowed up balloons all over my black sweatshirt. I even had them on a headband on top of my head. I was colorful to say the least. My husband found my stash of straight pins in my Church office and when the night got a little slow, he decided to liven things up by busting my balloons when I wasn’t looking.

4: Country girl: This was not too much off the mark as I’m a country girl. But I added huge freckles and uneven ponytails.

Well, this year I decided to go a little different. I tried to think of something totally unusual. As if I’m not already totally unusual. I started thinking of different Bible characters that the kid’s would know. I finally got it! I will be Noah’s Ark, not Noah, but the Ark. Yes folks, I will be a boat (Well a cardboard simulation) and I even put animals standing all over the front. I will post a picture of myself tomorrow so you can see me.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween and a safe one. Be a kid and go crazy. You only live once and hey, you gotta just go for it. It makes you feel young again.

As always, good writing and may God bless you!

Reviews that cause you to pause!

Ok, so you’ve poured out your heart into your work. You love it, your editor loves it and even the dedicated friends that read it before it was published loved it. Then the dreaded reviews come in. Someone thinks it needs help. This post is dedicated to the feelings a review gives you.

1: A great review – Well the first great review you get makes your heart soar. You feel like nothing can hurt you at that moment. Your work has been approved by one person. Well, one person is not enough to make your book a best seller, but one good review could make it more popular than no reviews.

2: A good review – This is that review that says it was a fairly good book. But usually on a good review, there is a “But” in it. I always listen to that “But” because it is the suggestions of a complete stranger that usually makes more of a point than that of a friend who doesn’t necessarily tell you the truth about your writing.

3: A fair review – We’ve all had that review that really sat us back on our heels. I received one the other day. It was kind of half and half. What I mean by that is this. The reviewer started with “It was a great story line and I really liked it” which made me smile, but then they went into this “But, it was too rushed and didn’t get into enough of character building for me to really like it.” I sat back for a moment going, ok. That is the kind of review that can still sell books, but can also put off others.

4: A bad review – I’ve received some reviews that were pretty bad. It’s funny that you receive several raving reviews and then one of those nasty reviews come in and you go “WOW” where did that come from? I received one that said, “Sorry, but I couldn’t get past the first 4 pages”. Well, I’ve read some best sellers that I had a hard time reading them until I got past the first chapter, so I totally wrote off that review as someone who just didn’t like the story line, but then the very next review said they were pleasantly surprised how good it was as you got into the story. I think they were speaking to that other reviewer.

5: A questionable review – This is the kind of review where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they never read the book to begin with. I was reading a review the other day where someone wrote a paragraph about the good and bad points of one of my books. The problem with this is that the information provided from the book did not match my book. I even showed my editor and she said that is not from your book at all. They evidently read the description of the book and did their own version.

6: The follower review – This is the review that goes with the other persons review. Have you ever received a review whether good or bad and within a few hours you receive another review that says almost the same exact thing? It’s as if the other person just marked your book as read and then just copied the other review.

7: The “not my genre” review – I had someone write a rather nasty review of one of my books, but what was funny about the review was that at the end of the scathing review they stated that they hated romance novels. Why on earth would you purchase a romance novel and then decide to write a review on it if you didn’t like romance novels?

8: The nasty review – These are the reviews that are just down right nasty and they usually come from fellow authors. I received one that was a full paragraph totally tearing my book apart, then they went on to say that they would like to read more of my work. That was really weird to me. Especially the way they tore the book apart and told that the author (me) was not their kind of writer. Oh well, can’t please everyone. Made me feel good, because that is my best seller so not real concerned.

This post was just to state my feelings of the different types of reviews I’ve received. I have even posted some of the bad reviews on my selling sites. You may be saying “Are you nuts?” Well, yes I am, but that’s the life of a writer. Do you know that I started having more sales after posting the fair review. It’s funny how the review process works.

I think some people read the reviews and that makes their decisions on purchasing or not. Some people never even look at the reviews, but others just shrug and say, well it may not have been their kind of book.

So don’t take reviews too seriously. Not all reviews that look bad will hurt you. Don’t let a bad review cause you to put your writing on a shelf to never pick it up again. I’ve read a lot of best sellers that to me were horrible, but I knew it was not my style of book that I like, but I didn’t tear it apart in a review.

Also, when you do write a review, try to be as kind as you can. Offer some gentle suggestions and support the writer when you can.

As always, good writing/reviewing and May God bless you!

Feels like winter in the south.

Well we are feeling winter on our heels. Can’t believe a hurricane is in the area. Crazy weather. The wind is brisk here in Georgia and definitely a lot cooler.

If you read my blog then you’ll know yesterday was my church’s big Fall Festival. Boy that was a treat. We had a great turn out, but the cold weather was crazy. The wind was whipping around us and we couldn’t keep things on our tables. We could have filmed a commercial for duct tape. I kept a roll around my wrist. I had everything duct taped down.

We did a bubble station with several different kinds and shapes of bubble wands. The kids only had to load the bubbles and hold them in the air. The wind would send bubbles flying everywhere. It was a definite blast.

Well, getting the fireplace ready this week for the coming winter. Expecting a possible first frost in the morning. Burr!!!

To all my blog friends in Sandy’s path, we are praying for your safety and Sandy’s quick retreat.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you!

Goodreads Giveaways!

I have set up a giveaway of 1 signed paperback of each of my five books on my author page at Goodreads. Just follow this link to the “Moonbeam & Roses” giveaway http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/36077-moonbeam-roses. Follow this link to the “Tender Flames” giveaway http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/36081-tender-flames. Follow this link to the “Ghost Lover” giveaway http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/36078-ghost-lover. Follow this link to the “With All My Heart…” giveaway http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/36079-with-all-my-heart. Follow this link to the “A Love Never Lost” giveaway http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/36010-a-love-never-lost.

It has been a great week. The trees are turning beautiful colors and the air is starting to turn crisp. This Sunday is our Church Fall Festival, which being the children’s minister I’m in charge of the activities. I’m excited. Wednesday is Halloween and time for our annual “Trunk or Treat” at the Church. Trying to figure out what I’ll dress as. I’ve been a bouquet of balloons, a cowgirl, a pumpkin, a little girl and so on. SO I have to figure out something cool.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. As always good writing and may God bless you!

Surprise on Amazon!

I was looking up my book files on Amazon yesterday when I noticed a strange addition. At first I panicked thinking someone had hijacked my books. But in fact it was where I have one of my paperbacks in expanded distribution through CreateSpace. Seven wholesale book companies have picked up my book and have it on their sites. Needless to say I was dancing around the office. So, that inclined me to do this very shameless post. I haven’t posted my books lately, so here goes. Sorry for anyone who does not want to or care to know this. All of these are available on Smashwords, Amazon, Google Books, Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Kobo, Apple, & Sony.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you!

Ghost Lover

Stephanie Payne Hurt

Having a father who thought business came first and his daughter last had affected her. But when Jess turned 21 he gave her a gift that would change her life and add an unexpected love. What was behind such an extravagant and unexpected gift? Would her father’s business partner put a stop to any happiness that she could have or would the man of her dreams take her away from it all. Jess would soon find out her father’s sinister plan. When tragedy strikes will she find her Ghost Lover or will all be lost.

Tender Flames

Stephanie Payne Hurt

Sara has loved Wes all of her life, but she only sees sisterly love in his eyes. What happens when in a moment of anger she makes a hasty decision? Will it turn his head or turn him away? When tragedy strikes will the tables turn in her direction? Will love finally fan the tender flames of love?

Moonbeam & Roses

Stephanie Payne Hurt

Sara secretly had a crush on Wes and had most of her life. Then when Wes rejects her love and moves to Montana, she jumps into her work as an artist and into the arms of another man. It is not until a tragic accident happens that things start to turn around for Sara. Could she finally have true love with the cowboy in her dreams or will her blindness cause her to throw it all away.

With All My Heart…

Stephanie Payne Hurt

When Amanda moves to a small town to pursue her career as a Children’s Minister, she never expects to find the man God has sent for her. But just as she opens her heart up to him something terrible happens to her causing her to shut the world out, including the love of her life. Will he be able to help her find her faith or will she forever be lost?

A Love Never Lost

Stephanie Payne Hurt

Friends since early childhood, Lilly and Zane have always been inseparable. After four years apart, will their relationship change? Upon seeing Lilly again after such a long absence he realizes his heart belongs to her. When a wealthy ranch owner from Texas offers Lilly the job of a lifetime, will she leave knowing the effect it will have on Zane and their relationship? Will her new boss expect more than just an employer/employee relationship? Just how far will he go to win her over? Will Zane be able to pull her from the ties of the ranch or will it be A Love Never Lost?

Well if you have read my profile, you know I’m a children’s minister. It has been a wild ride I can say that. There’s never a dull moment. You go from laughing to amazement to fear in just a few moments. When God made me He added an extra dose of patience, or at least that’s what people say.

Today was one of those days. Usually on Sunday I just teach children’s church which takes place during adult church. Today was my day to also teach the preschool class during Sunday School. They are just funny. Their attention spans last about five minutes, ten if you are extremely lucky. I thought well I will teach about Balaam and his talking donkey. Thought that would keep their interest, WRONG! I finished the story and they played three sessions of musical chairs. I finally gave in and took them out to the playground. Well being Fall in the south you never know how the temperature will be. Let’s just say the wind was blowing my hair over my head and I was freezing. Not the kids though.

Then children’s church started. Had four visiting children along with my regular wild crew. I have the 1st through 5th grade class. Well the music and worship went well, but the closing prayer was a real hoot. One of the boys decided he wanted to pray, started off well, but by the time he ended you could not hear him. I just grinned and took them back out in the wind.

Everything was going well as the preschoolers class let out and they came out too. The other teacher and me and my helpers were talking watching the kids. I constantly do head counts as it is a horror of mine to lose a child. Well, guess what, I lost a child today. One of the visiting children. His mom came out to pick up her two boys and one came running up but not the other. Well I started calling for him and the other children looked so innocent. That should have been my first clue. The mother and I went inside looking in the restroom and then as we started back outside he walked in smiling totally happy with himself. He had been hiding on the playground.

Needless to say I was beyond upset. I looked at the mother and begged apologies. I guess she went through this a lot because she patted my arm and smiled. I had to sit down. It was not a good feeling.

Some days it comes to either you laugh or you cry.

Have a great night to all.

My Favorite Halloween Movie…

I’m so excited. Tonight my favorite Halloween movie is coming on. It’s Hocus Pocus. I’ve never been into scary movies. I like funny scary. Give me Disney’s Haunted Mansion or Hocus Pocus and I’m set. I get excited at Halloween because that means Christmas is just around the corner. Have a wonderful night! Watch out for spooks!