Monday… Yep it will be Monday all day. I’m working on my second cup of coffee and still not feeling it. This week is d-day for tax returns and I’m in fast forward. It’s also the last few days to get votes for my entry in Harlequin’s Writing contest. So my mind is running around bumping into walls and going nuts.
I’m doing halfway decent in the voting. Right now I’m still short some votes to stay in the Top 25, so if you’re in the mood to give me a vote and share with friends, please do. It would be great to get to the Top 25, but even if I don’t, I’m still honored to have been chosen for the Top 55.
Try to make the most of your Monday and hope you have a great one.
Just to get you up to speed on what’s happening, Tuscany, my newest manuscript has made it to the top 55 in Harlequin’s SYTYCW15 contest. I’m posting like a crazy woman trying to get to the top 25, but I have to get enough votes to do so. If you get a moment, please give a vote on Wattpad at https://www.wattpad.com/161892410-tuscany-sytycw15-pitch-part-1
So, in the last two posts I introduced you to Lana and Romeo, now let me give you an idea of what Lana’s up against. Here’s the letter she received from her grandmother at the time of her death. This would definitely be an eye opener.
My Dearest Lana Rose,
I know you have many questions for this old woman, but first things first… Don’t you dare shed any tears for me. I’m in a good place surrounded by my loved ones.
Now for the reason you’re on this plane…I want to be buried in Tuscany where I left my heart over forty years ago. I know I never told you about that part of my life, but there was a reason.
When you arrive in Tuscany, a wonderful couple will meet you at the airport. Roberto and Marianna have been my friends for many, many years. They will take you to my small olive farm, Olive Hill. Another secret I know, but that too will come to light soon.
I want you to try it for a year. If after a year you’re not happy, then Roberto is prepared to sell everything and send you back to Georgia. But please give it a year. I know you’ll love it there. It’s the most beautiful place on earth and the magic it holds is beyond anything you’ve ever seen.
You should have my journal safely with you. As instructed, I want you to wait until you’re at the house before you open it. Everything will be explained in the pages of my journal.
I’ve raised you to be independent and I expect you to pull your weight at the farm. And please give your heart a chance to love. If you can fall in love anywhere, it’s Tuscany. Your heart will guide you in the right direction, but first you have to open it up to the possibility of love.
Roberto has my burial instructions and will follow them exactly as I’ve specified. Marianna will help you with the house. She’s an angel and I wouldn’t have made it through my youth without her.
Now you take care of yourself and remember that I love you with everything I have. We’ll be together again one day, but until then please be happy.
Love Abounds,
Mama Leona
Are you a little intrigued, if so go by and vote. Let’s see Tuscany in a Harlequin cover!
You’ve met Lana, but now you need to meet Romeo… Well for starters he’s a dark haired, dark eyed Italian with a heart for Olive Hill. Then in comes Lana and he feels she’ll take everything away that he’s worked his whole life.
One thing you need to know about Romeo is he’s passionate, strong willed and loves with everything he has. When Lana comes into his life, everything changes. He fights the feelings with his Italian will, but love is stronger than that. The passion he feels for her takes over his senses. With the first sight, he feels it, but the first kiss sends him in a spiral.
My idea of Romeo is Ian Somerhalder from The Vampire Diaries. Yeah, he’s that good looking. As I wrote this book, that was the picture in my head, some picture too. Imagine Ian as you read Tuscany, believe me, it brings a whole new meaning to the word, Romance….
Good Friday morning! It’s been a spectacular week, hope it has for you too! If you haven’t read any of my latest posts, I’m in the running to win a writing contract with Harlequin, yes, you heard me. I’m in the Top 50, so that means I need some votes, but first, let me introduce you to the leading lady in Tuscany, Lana.
Lana is a young woman from Zebulon, Georgia. She was raised by her grandmother, Mama Leona. Her life was as normal as any Georgia country girl. But when her grandmother dies everything she thought about her life changes. Now she has to go to Italy to take on the role as heiress of a huge olive oil farm, Olive Hill.
The problem with this is she never knew about the estate in Italy, much less her grandmother’s wealth. With everything else, she’s given a journal from her grandmother that helps guide her way. Then she meets Romeo, a handsome single Italian man that runs Olive Hill. The sparks fly as they disagree about everything, including the estate. She has one year to decide to keep the estate or sell it.
Good morning all! I’ve got some exciting news… I’ve made it to the top 50 in the Harlequin So You Think You Can Write contest. And yes I’ve been dancing, jumping, screaming and all the normal things, but after a somewhat good nights sleep it’s time to get to work. I need your help!
What help you might ask? Well, I need your votes. In order to get to the top 25, I need as many votes after 5:01 EST today on the pitch part of my entry. I’ll post later the promotional package from Harlequin. Boy, that sounds good saying that. If you can, please forward, share, do whatever you have to do to get it out there. I’m forever grateful for whatever help you can give. You guys have had my back for a long time.
As always, good writing and May God Bless You… He blessed me with this opportunity!
Good morning… If you’re a writer you know some of the struggles of a writer. Maybe you’re not a writer and you ask what I’m speaking of, well here goes. As a writer you have many struggles and I’m listing just the top five.
Time – A lot of writers aren’t full time. They work other jobs and have to fit their writing in between business meetings, job hours and family time. It’s a true struggle to meet deadlines and get everything else done. But as a writer, you strive to get that few minutes here and there to write. The story has to be told.
Being seen – This is a real struggle in a market that is bursting at the seams with other writers just like you. You have to find the right niche, then make sure you stand out among the thousands, in some genres, millions of other books.
Money – If you haven’t had that break out moment, then you’re having to pay for a lot of advertising and promoting. It’s a struggle when you spend more than what comes in.
Reviews – Oh yeah, this is a struggle for traditional and indie authors. You don’t want to buy reviews, you want genuine, heartfelt reviews that draw in more readers. But more and more I hear fellow writers say it’s almost impossible to get their readers to post a review. Reviews help us authors build our reader base.
Respect – Wow, this one is hard to gain. Most people look at you strangely when you say you’re a writer. Some even say, oh I can do that, but don’t have the time. Then they say, can’t you find a better way to spend your time, or you need to do something other than write. In my opinion those people don’t have a clue as to the draw of a writer to the writing. We have to do it.
Good Wednesday morning! Today’s sadly the last day of our Romancing September Across the World Tour, but all good things must come to an end. Fellow writers, don’t forget to get your name in the pot for next year’s tour.
But this post today’s post is a little different. I’ve recently began to do something I’ve always said I’d never do, binge watching. Well we signed up for Netflix and well, let’s just say it’s addicting with no commercials and whole seasons right at your fingertips. But I’ve also felt the bite of getting to the end of a season, only to find out that the next season won’t be out until the day the newest season starts, really!!!
Right now I’m hooked on Longmire, before that it was The Originals and Vampire Diaries. Since I write cowboy romances everyone asks why I haven’t watched Longmire before now. Guess I never thought about it, but I’d see the advertisements and think, that sounds like my kind of show. Well, now I’m hooked. Who doesn’t love a good cowboy?
But then there’s binge reading, yeah you know what I’m talking about. Now I’ve been doing that for as long as I can remember. I used to sit for hours reading, still do at times when I can find the time. I’ve even been known to binge write, which is good if you’re on a deadline.
The downfall to binge anything is you tend to binge eat. Ok, now, tell me, what’s your binge? By the way as I type this post I’m watching the 1st episode of the 2nd season of Longmire. Didn’t I say I was hooked?
Good morning everyone! I want to welcome you to the 2nd part of Day 30 of the 3rd Annual Romancing September Across the World Blog Tour. If you haven’t checked out Rosie’s post from earlier, then go by https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/ and get caught up.
Now on to today’s featured author, Here’s the question I asked:
What has been the biggest inspiration for your writing?
The 71 years of life tucked under my belt. I’ve seen, and lived through, enough adventures and misadventures to keep me writing until I’m about 112! I have lots of stories I want to tell, and am excited about doing so.
In second place would be all the hundreds upon hundreds of books I’ve read during those 71 years. Every kind of story, every style of writing, and all providing great inspiration for me now.
Here’s a little bit about today’s author:
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Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of 29 years, four cats, and two dachshunds. When not working on her books and blogs, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard.
At the age of five, Marcia declared she wanted to be an author, and is ecstatic that a mere 64 years later, she finally wrote Wake-Robin Ridge, her first novel. Now, making up for lost time, she has published two more novels, and has a fourth scheduled to be released in September 2015. Plus, she has published a small chapbook of poetry, Summer Magic: Poems of Life and Love, and her work has been included in six Silver Birch Anthologies.
If you live in the Central Florida area, I’m frequently out and about doing Meet the Author events at various local venues, and would love to have you stop by and say hello. Sign up for my newsletter to get my schedule.
Drop me a line, or make a comment on my blogs any time. I love meeting new readers and other writers.
Todays featured book is “Wake Robin-Ridge”. If you haven’t checked out the her book, then here’s a little about it and where to find it.
Book Description
“A PHONE RINGING AT 2:00 A.M. never means anything good. Calls at 2:00 A.M. are bad news . . . Someone has died. Someone is hurt. Or someone needs help.”
On a bitter cold January night in 1965, death came calling at an isolated little cabin on Wake-Robin Ridge. Now, nearly 50 years later, librarian Sarah Gray has quit her job and moved into the same cabin, hoping the peace and quiet of her woodland retreat will allow her to concentrate on writing her first novel. Instead she finds herself distracted by her only neighbor, the enigmatic and reclusive, but very good-looking, MacKenzie Cole, who lives on top of the mountain with his Irish wolfhound as his sole companion.
As their tentative friendship grows, Sarah learns the truth about the heartbreaking secret causing Mac to hide from the world. But before the two can sort out their feelings for each other, they find themselves plunged into a night of terror neither could have anticipated. Now they must unravel the horrifying events of that murder so long ago. In doing so, they discover that the only thing stronger than a hatred that will not die is a heart willing to sacrifice everything for another.
A story of evil trumped by the power of love and redemption, Wake-Robin Ridge will transport you to the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and introduce you to characters you won’t soon forget.
I hope you enjoyed it! Keep watching for more great authors all month and don’t forget to go by Rosie’s post at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/… Let’s make it another awesome tour for 2015!
Stephanie Hurt - Romance Author 