TBT – “Field of Dreams”

It’s Thursday and as I sit here watching the Today Show I’m in awe. Why? Well, they’re talking about Field OF Dreams being 25 years old. I dearly love this movie for many reasons. It’s such an inspirational movie.

Even if you don’t like baseball you’ll love this movie. I just love Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones. The movie takes you to another place where dreams come true and make you think. The main character makes his dreams a reality through many hardships and a lot of criticism.

It makes me think about my dream to be a writer. My niece who is also my partner in our publishing business told me that if I write the fans will come and she was right. I compare my writing to the baseball field. When I publish a book I’m always amazed at the people that come out of the darkness and write to me about the book. Some call them inspirational and others say they love the clean way I bring about romance without having to go too far.

I guess you could say my writing is my very own field of dreams and it’s been a dream come true. Yes I do meet some criticism, but I have a tough skin and let it roll off my back. I’m lucky that I have a great following and so many new friends from all over the world that support my writing, my blog and my craziness. Thanks to all of you for helping me make my dreams come true.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

How’s your editing?

One of the hardest things for most authors is the editing process. It’s a very important part of the writing process. Some authors hire editors and leave it all up to them, but is that enough?

I recently read an article in a writer’s magazine and it opened my eyes to several things concerning editing. A bestselling author was talking about editing and she was astonished at what readers caught in her latest work that was missed by both her editors. Do we only skim over the work while editing?

One author said that she read the work again after the editor finished, but she found about 20 errors that were completely missed. So, when has your book been edited enough? If professional editors are missing the errors what do we do as writers? For me I read and then read again. It’s amazing the errors you find on the second read through.

When writing usually I’m so into the story that I don’t even realize the english that I use. But what if the story needs the bad english to make the point at that place in the book. Will the editor catch that or will they change it and in that one change make the paragraph lose it’s meaning? This happens so many times to writers. Sometimes the way you state something to make a point might not be the best english, but in the situation it makes perfect sense.

So, how’s your editing skills? Do you need help? If you’re not sure about your editing skills, check out having your book looked at by more eyes before you publish. My company, Horseshoe Publishing helps authors get their books publish ready, including intense editing.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Can you write sadness out?

As a writer I can write about happy things, sad things or bad things, but if I want them to go away I can just erase them and start over. In life we can’t just write it out of the program. Life happens and keeps going whether the sadness stops or not. Today I received a really hard call. One of my long time clients and a really good friend lost her battle with lung cancer last night. When I talked with her before her last trip to the hospital she was so positive. Her attitude was that she was going to kick cancer’s butt. She was a woman of faith and she knew everything would be alright either way. We often talked about our faith and the hope of tomorrow. She knew where she was headed and was at peace with it as all Christian’s should be. Her wish was not to suffer and cause her family to suffer and she did receive that wish.

Sometimes in life we just want to hit the backspace and try to go back over everything so that we can change things. That’s what I’d like to do right now. I want this to be one of my manuscripts where I can just erase it and start again. But I know what my friend would say, she’d tell me to quit being silly and to remember who she was, not what she had. She was a special woman with such a sweet spirit.

Life is hard to take at times. I channel my emotions through my writing. I’ve sat for hours pouring over my writing to get emotions to ease or a problem solved. Someone that’s not a writer might not understand this need, but if you’re a writer you’ll know what I’m talking about. I guess you could say that writers use some extra chromosome or something to that nature to channel our emotions. That’s what makes us writers because we do have extreme emotions.

As I sit here writing this post, I know that my friend is well again. She’s probably laughing at me and shaking her head as she often did. I know that death is part of life and we all will go down that road one day, but when it hits close to your heart it’s as though time stops for a moment as you register what just happened. You’ve lost a segment of your life.

All of us experience loss in our lives. It’s inevitable if you live long enough. Everyone expresses grief in different ways. Some people go forward and ignore it until the pressure builds, while others cry and get it over with. I have to admit to shedding some tears this morning. It helps to relieve the pressure valve. When I start on my writing this afternoon, I know it will be a powerful writing session as I write the emotion out and try to come to grip with my sadness.

This is wishing all of you well and hoping you have a sunny day.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Not a cowboy in sight…

Well my pirate romance is coming along nicely. I’m actually enjoying it immensely. Since pirate romance novels were my favorite when I was younger it’s like going back in time. I have suspense mingled in with romance and a lot of sea air. I want the reader to feel as though they’re on the ship.

Captain Caleb Tanner is not like most pirates. He’s got morals and does things for others. But he’s been dubbed as a pirate and he’s alright with that. The first time he sets eyes on Serena Wilimgton, he’s smitten and wants to know more. He’s a great reader of people and he sees something is not totally right with things.

Serena Wilmington loves the sea and everything that goes with it. When her mother dies suddenly, leaving her dying wish for Serena to leave quickly from her childhood home to stay safe, she goes where her heart leads her. The only thing is her heart has led her to stowaway on Caleb’s ship. It gets crazy when she boards a pirate ship as a boy, but Caleb figures her out. Just wait till you see how it goes. It definitely doesn’t go as Serena thinks.

I will be doing a cover reveal soon. It’s still in the works, but the bones are there. The book is coming along quickly. I did well over 5000 words this weekend.

So, do you like pirate romance?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Giveaway of free Audio Books…

I’ve been working on two of my latest manuscripts a lot lately. I know I’ve been blogging only here and there. These two books have demanded my complete attention and I’ve been giving in to the calling. But I do have a special message for all my readers and friends. Audible.com has given me 25 codes to the audio book for Open The Heart.

If you haven’t had time to read Open The Heart, then why not listen to it? So, here’s the deal. All you have to do is message me at stephaniehurt4@gmail.com and the first 25 to send me a message will get the code to unlock your free audio book.

So run, don’t walk to your email and send me a message.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What are you waiting for?

Lately I’ve received several messages from writers that talked about not publishing their work. My question is always, ‘Why not?’ It’s so easy nowadays. Of course I was skeptical when I hit the publish button the first time, but over 10 books later I haven’t looked back.

It’s such a rewarding feeling when you sell the first book. But the feeling of accomplishment far out weighs any of the nerves I had. It’s funny how the nerves always hit before I publish my books, even several books in. I always get anxious and wonder if anyone will like my work, then I hear from some of my dedicated fans and I smile.

If you put your heart into your writing, why not put it out there? Don’t let those manuscripts just collect dust. I did that for so many years. Take the leap and put it out there. Whether you self publish or go with a traditional publisher, do it. It’s worth the try and you won’t regret it. Don’t let the years go by and the books fade away.

If you need any help with covers, editing, social media setup for your books or anything with the publishing, check out the tab at the top of my blog. I own Horseshoe Publishing along with my editor. We help take the pain out of publishing. Just sit back and write.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

“The Summer I Fell” Cover Reveal for Sonya Loveday

Check out the upcoming book from my friend and author Sonya Loveday. The cover tells me this is going to be a really good book. Today is the cover reveal and the release date should be coming soon. Check out her site for upcoming release dates. I’ll post them here also. Show Sonya some author and reader love today…

Riley Clifton can’t remember a time when she wasn’t a part of the Six, a group of rowdy boys who would do just about anything for her. Growing up alongside of six guys is never easy. Especially in high school. Falling in love with one of the Six? Even harder when Ace has a hold of her heart, and he doesn’t even know it.

Jake (Ace) Aceton has loved Riley for a long time, but has kept the secret oath of the Six. Riley was off limits. At least until after graduation. When he overhears Riley admitting to her best friend, Paige how she feels about him, Ace doesn’t let his chance slip by. Riley, in his mind, has always been his.

When her college plan falls through, and her future is left to the hands of fate, Riley finds herself scrambling to keep up with all the changes. But that’s not the hardest part. The hardest part is saying good-bye, especially to Ace.

Heartache, hard lessons, and a love deeper than her Alabama roots will threaten to crumble Riley’s world as she waits for Ace’s return.

Will Riley and Ace’s love be strong enough to hold them together when life tries to tear them apart?

Sonya Loveday, first and foremost is a reader, an avid one. It is of that love that brought her to the realization that this was the answer to the nagging persistent feeling that ‘there’s got to be something more’.
The dream came alive in 2009 when she purchased her laptop and began the tedious step of becoming a published author.
When she’s not reading, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s reading. And when she’s not doing either of those things she’s sleeping, shuttling her children back and forth to school, letting the dogs and cats in and out of the house for the umpteenth time in the last hour and dreaming of a clean house.

You can find Sonya Loveday here:

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Monday morning question…

I’ve been throwing around the idea of writing a Pirate romance, but I had been wondering if it was a good idea. Of course as you know I don’t go with the flow, but I didn’t want to just be left out in the dark. I started to check out current Pirate romances and noticed that not many exist in current writing.

I received my Romance Writers of America magazine this weekend and was reading an article from several editors and agents. A couple of the agents were telling what they’d like to see less of and more of in the future. Guess what? They wanted to bring back the Pirate romance. I did a little happy dance and started my outline and cover details as soon as I finished the article.

When I was young the craze was Pirate romance. I still have a box full of great ones. I’m excited about getting it started really soon. I made sure the outline was very detailed so that it stays fresh in my mind. But as most of you know, I can’t just work on one manuscript at the time. I also want to assure the fans that are eagerly and impatiently ( 😉 ) waiting on Emma Rose that it’s still in the works.

So, what are you writing this week and have you ever read a Pirate romance?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Summertime writing inspiration!

Does this picture inspire you? It inspires me. I could go in so many directions with this one picture. Since it’s alread hot and balmy here in Georgia and it’s only 10:30 in the morning, this mostly inspires me to run across and jump off the end into the cool, blue water.

For some reason when the seasons start to change I get inspired. The changes always give me a little food for thought. I love the way God just makes things happen and the beauty that abounds around us. It’s breathtaking. Even in the hottest summer days it is breathtaking.

Does a good summer storm exhilerate you? Maybe it’s just a me thing, but I feel exhilerated as I watch the thunderheads loom in the distance and the lightning flashing through them like tiny explosions. I sit on my porch or back deck and watch from a safe distance. Hey I do have some sense enough to get out of the storm. The air always feel electric and exciting. As the storm nears you feel the deep vibrations of the thunder rumbling. Then the first pitter patter of tiny rain drops that turn into big drops. Oh, the fun of a summer evening storm. They come and go quickly, but the power is evident.

Maybe it’s the excitement that inspires me to write. What inspires you? Do the seasons give you reason to write?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What’s the latest trend? Does it matter?

There’s so many trends in writing. It’s obvious if you go on bestsellers in the Amazon search you will see lots of Cowboy Romance. That’s a good thing for someone like me that writes Cowboy Romance. But what if you don’t write those types of romance? It’s quite simple really. Write what you love.

I’ve said this over and over and I’ll say it again. Write what you love. If you try to write about something that you don’t love or something you’re not familiar with, well it will show in your writing. Why not start your own trend. If you write about romantic fairies that meet you in the woods, well that’s what you need to write about. Make it popular. Write the novel that will put it on the board.

I’ve noticed several trends since I’ve been writing. When I was a teenager which was a long while ago and no I will not tell you how long ago, the trend was pirate romance. I loved them and still have several of those in my massive book collection. I was searching Amazon the other day and noticed several pirate romances popping up. Interesting. I think maybe we have a swing in trends. I also noticed several that graced country boys sitting on their trucks. They weren’t necessarily cowboys, but ball cap, blue jean wearing country boys. Another interesting theme.

We’ll see where it goes, but I think the winds of change affect many writers. Some get affected in a good way and others let it take them down a road of no man’s land. Don’t let it happen to you. Write what you’re passionate about and make it the best you’ve ever written. If it’s good, people will find it and maybe make it a new trend. You’ll never know until you put it out there. So go for it!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…