If you cut it off, it will grow back, Who knew!

You may be wondering what I’m talking about. Today’s post is two fold. Since I’m on a low calorie diet, that means I’m eating salads, salads, and more salads. That means I’m buying lettuce constantly. A couple of weeks ago as I scanned down the many thousands of posts on Facebook I ran into an article about regrowing lettuce. Well since I’m eating so much lettuce (feeling somewhat like a rabbit) I decided to read the article instead of passing it by.

It was talking about the kind of lettuce that I eat, which is Romaine. All you do is cut the hard end off which you can’t eat anyway and put it in a cup of water. Now I have letter regrowing in my cups. Yes I did a happy dance on my patio the other evening when I saw my little lettuce sprouts reaching up to the sky. Of course my hubby and son laughed at me and they’ve played some really mean tricks on me regarding my little baby lettuce sprouts. Who knew you could grow lettuce from your cut off stalks, well maybe some of your knew, but I didn’t.

As for the 2nd meaning, I’m talking about your manuscript. I’ve been working on Chase, the 3rd book in the Five Oaks Ranch series and something just didn’t feel right about one of the scenes. I read it and reread it until my eyes crossed. Then I made the decision to cut the whole scene and start over. Guess what? It worked! Once I decided to delete the whole scene that wasn’t sitting right with me, I felt better.

Then as I started back over with this section of the book it took on another feel altogether and actually led into another scene I hadn’t even thought of. So, it helped to cut it off and let it regrow and then it multiplied! Now that’s the kind of cutting off I like.

So, how’s your writing going? I hope it’s going well. Also, have any of you ever replanted something in order for it to regrow and multiply. I’d love to hear about it.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!

P.S. Just a little exciting news, I’m featured this week in Southern Writers Mic Nite! Here’s a link to said article: http://www.southernwritersonline.com/mic-nite.html

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/7467877@N07/4970032832″>Novelty Gene Autry Barlow</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a>

Beach Sale!

It’s summer and the time to go to the beach. If your not headed to the beach, but maybe a staycation at home, then now’s the time to fill up your Kindle. We all know that summer is our time to give back to ourselves. For me that means getting in some reading while sitting in the shade, sipping cool, sweet tea.

With that thought in mind, I’m offering a huge Beach Sale on all of my standalone e-books through Amazon. For the summer they will be .99, yes that’s right, .99. What’s a little sacrifice among friends. So head over to my Amazon author page and grab a couple or all of them before the summer ends. I might extend the sale to other sites where my books are available, but for now it’s only Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Hurt

As for now, good writing, and May God Bless You…

By the way, try to stay cool!

Friday morning editing…

Good morning! Hope all is well. For me, well, all I can say is I’m pleasantly exhausted. This has been a crazy week with VBS, but it ended last night. By the way it was great!

As for my writing I’ve been reading a lot of articles about writing lately. It’s amazing the amount of information out there for authors. Some of it is really good and others not so good. We need to remember that in order to stay up to date and on our game it’s important to make sure our skills stay updated.

It’s a business just like any other. For instance, with my Accounting business I need to take courses yearly to stay on top of my game and to make sure that I am current with all the regulations and laws. Everyone can use a little nudge here and there. One of the articles I read this week was about the use of adverbs. It was an eye opener. I went back over one of my older manuscripts and well let’s just say I wasn’t happy. The article made me think about the words I used and why maybe they weren’t the best choices.

Have you been keeping your craft polished and publishing ready? If we keep our skills up to date then we will make a better manuscript on the first try. I’ve changed my writing style in the last three years due to studying the rules and using the information to make my writing better. It helps make your work stand out.

So, try reading some articles every week. Make your work the best it can be and you’ll see the results in better sales. it will also help with the editing process.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

June, the month for weddings!

June is the month for weddings, which means it’s the month for Romance! Now you know I love romance if you’ve spent any time around my blog or books. Of course it’s also the start of summer which gives everyone this wonderful feeling of freedom. I enjoy this time of year when things are relaxed and laid back.

Romance is real, not a myth. There are skeptics out there that say romance only exists in the imagination, but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t. Did you know that the tradition of a June wedding started really long ago? There are many historical reasons why, some not so romantic. Like the one where it says the bride would smell fresher in June since the annual bath time was usually in May or June. (Yeah, I gagged on that one.)

Then you have the weather. What better time to have a wedding then in June. The weather is warm and the pictures are gorgeous with the green grass and trees, even blooming flowers in the background. Sometime when you have a little time, google June weddings. It’s interesting reading about all the meanings behind it.

For me a wedding is romantic any time of the year. My wedding was in February. It was sleeting outside and really cold. But I think it was really romantic and I’ll never forget it. But unfortunately some brides want to forget their wedding days. That’s sad but true.

So let’s keep romance alive. I strive with every book I write to keep romance alive in the hearts of my fans. I’ve even turned some men into romance readers. Maybe it will change someone’s heart, maybe not, but it’s fun trying.

Do you believe in romance?

As always good writing and May God Bless You…

Researching the craft…

Good Wednesday morning! It’s beautiful this morning here in Georgia. The sun’s streaming through the window and the birds are chirping happily, but according to the news we have weather headed our way for the afternoon, but this morning I’ll enjoys the beauty in front of me.

Well on to today’s topic, Research. No matter what genre you write, a little research is needed. For me I read constantly and watch a lot of romance on television. It’s a must when you’re a writer. I try to keep up with what’s new and happening in the romance field.

As for watching romance on television, all it takes is a spark and off to the writing I go. My favorite station is Hallmark. The romantic movies give me inspiration and also an idea of ways to make a story flow. Remember, all of these were written by someone. Some of their movies are actually based on romance novels, which is exciting. Especially if I’ve read the novel, then I sit and compare it.

Of course I’m a avid reader, constantly plowing through the thousands of books to get to the one that just pops out at me. Sometimes it’s the cover that pulls me, or maybe the title. A cover can sell a book quicker than the blurb, really, it’s happened with me. I’ll see a cover that just pulls me in and that’s it. Of course I’ve been disappointed, but even a badly written novel can offer research ability. I make notes of what turns me off about the book. Maybe it’s wording or just the scene placement. But reading is a fun way to research about your genre.

Another way is to scan Amazon. Yes, I said scan it. Type in the genre or sub genre you’re currently working on, then see what’s selling. Look at the covers, the blurbs and the reviews, which are important. This will keep you current with the pull of the readers.

Don’t forget that if you’re writing about something specific like say rodeo, you’ll need to check out some reading on the subject. I’ve learned a lot about the rodeo since I’ve been writing Chase. As I get to a certain spot where I need a rodeo technical term, it’s off to Google. It’s amazing what you can learn. The other day I got caught up in a article and it actually inspired a whole scene that I’d not planned. Remember, I’m a outline person, but that outline can change 😉

So, do you research your genre? If not, I suggest doing a little checking. It’s amazing how much fuller your writing can be when you delve into the subject at hand. You might be pleasantly surprised.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S. Oakley is now available! http://www.amazon.com/Oakley-Five-Oaks-Ranch-Book-ebook/dp/B00YLNDNOM

Ebook piracy is real and growing…

Good Wednesday morning! Hope all of you are well and safe. I know several people in the flood ravaged south and I hope all of you are safe this morning. As I watch the news its devastating and tears at my heart. Prayers going up to all of you in the danger zones.

This morning I want to discuss Ebook piracy. When I started my writing career I was a little leery of putting my book on websites that I wasn’t familiar with. I’d spend hours checking out their ratings and BBB information before I’d even set up an account with them. We want to keep our work safe from those that want to take advantage, but what can we do in this day and age of cyber piracy? Nothing, not a thing…

I noticed about a year ago that when I googled my name, several websites came up that I didn’t recognize. Of course I checked them out and some of them are legitimate because they are distributors from Createspace that legally sell my book and I reap the royalties. But unfortunately a couple were actually pirating my books for free on their sites. A month ago I was searching out my books and found that the number of websites that my books are showing up on have more than doubled.

Of course it got me a little hot under the collar until a well known author told me something that hadn’t really hit me. She told me that it’s like free advertising. The word pirates as I call them were actually doing free promotions for my work. I still don’t like the fact that they steal your work and place it everywhere for free, but in a way it is getting my work out there. She also went as far as to tell me I should be proud that they picked my work to steal because that meant they evidently thought it would help them. Never thought of it that way either.

My question to several authors was how do you stop them, but all of them came back with the same response, you don’t. The websites change constantly and have crazy names. I keep a watch on it though because I don’t want someone else to list their name as the author of my work. Now that will spur me into action, but for now I’m just watching it.

I suggest if you’re a published author to keep an eye on your work. Do a cyber search frequently on your author name, book name and website. It’s just a precautionary measure, but it could save your work.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S. Oakley is coming out by the end of next weeks!!! I’ll be posting updates by the end of the week. So go over to my website at www.stephaniehurtauthor.com and subscribe to my newsletter to get updates on new releases or exciting news. Or go over to Facebook and like my author page to stay up to date at https://www.facebook.com/StephaniePayneHurt. If you’re a Twitter lover then check out my tweets at https://twitter.com/StephanieHurt4.

Tuesday morning glance at the past…

This morning I’m taking a look back at how things have changed in the self publishing world since I started in 2012. It’s amazing how it fluctuates. So many main stream traditionally published authors have gone back to self publishing and are enjoying the freedom that it provides.

Self publishing has come into it’s own in the last three years or at least in my opinion. There are more sites to place your books and they are more widely accepted. When I first put my books on Smashwords.com the distributors list was a lot shorter and now you can have your books spread out far and wide. Also, several traditional publishers are jumping on the bandwagon and looking at it differently.

The amount of self published books is phenomenal and the amount of best selling self published books has rose along with it. Now a self published book can actually go to the top without the hand of an agent or big publisher pushing it. Traditional publishing has it’s good points too. But for some of us starting out or maybe that have already been there, we’re venturing out and testing the waters first.

So, what’s your opinion on the growth of self publishing? Are you traditionally published or self published? Maybe you’re both…

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Word Count & Scrivener

Good Saturday morning! Here in Georgia it’s simply gorgeous with the sun shining and the temps comfortable. Makes me want to go outside and sit the rest of the day writing. But my house needs an overhaul 😉 That doesn’t mean that I won’t end up out there with my laptop.

I’m working on two manuscripts at the moment. Of course ‘Chase’ is one of them and then I’m also working on a new Christian Historical Romance, but that one will be discussed at a later date. As for writing, I’ve been trying to get in my daily word count and then some. Since the stories are flowing pretty steadily lately, it helps me to stay focused.

One thing that is helping with my writing lately is a program that I’m trying out. Have you tried out Scrivener yet? Several authors have suggested the program to me, but until now I’ve been using word mostly. So about a month or so ago I decided to test the waters and I’ve not looked back yet.

This program incorporates my trusty outlines and character lists into the same screen as my manuscript. I can keep it all at my fingertips at all time. Better yet as a new character is created I can simply add them to the list and never skip a beat. I’ve even got the outlines typed out for a couple of story ideas for later in the year.

What’s fun is with my 5 Oaks Ranch series I can copy my character list over to the next book. That way I don’t have to keep going back to the books before and search out a character. Let’s just say I love this program and highly suggest trying it out. They offer a trial version so that you can make sure it fits in with your way of writing.

Well, I better get back to mopping my kitchen and doing laundry because it won’t do itself. Also the sooner it’s done, the sooner me and my laptop can head out to sit on the deck and get lost in another world, if just for a while.

So, what are you up to today? Hope it’s fun…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

So much water under the bridge, Ghost Love is 3!

Good morning everyone! I do hope you’re having a wonderful morning, for some of you a wonderful afternoon, maybe even early evening. Well today’s a special day for this writer, it’s the 3 year anniversary of Ghost Lover being published. I’m a proud mama for sure.

Ghost Lover came about a long time ago in my head and was originally named ‘Can This be Real’. But once I was ready to edit the final draft Ghost Lover came into my mind and the name was cemented in my writing history. It’s been a crazy ride since I hit the publish button on this one. There’s been 3 covers, yes 3.

Yep, that first one, well let’s just say it didn’t last long. I fell immediately in love with the second one, then of course I fell over my own feet with the third one. As the book evolved, so did the cover. The third cover goes with the revised, 2nd edition which I published several months ago. I’ve grown as a writer over the last three years and realized that Ghost Lover needed a more detailed edit.

Here’s a few fun facts about Ghost Lover.

1: It was written over ten years ago under the name ‘Can This Be Real’.

2: This was the first book to make me cry and laugh in the same paragraph. Yep, this book touched me.

3: I received my first call from a big publishing house with this one. Actually I had two call me wanting me to republish this one under their name. As you can see, I didn’t. I stuck to my guns and held strong.

4: This book went International and did really well which totally blew my mind as a new writer.

5: I still have a book cowboy crush on Jared. He’s some kind of gentleman and still makes my head spin.

If you haven’t read Ghost Lover then now’s the best time. For a limited time it’s on sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for .99. Yes, I said .99! I want everyone to fall in love with Jared and Jess, the couple that started my writing career. I’m forever grateful.

So, have you fell in love with a cowboy lately? If not, then check out Jared. He’ll steal your heart and lock it away forever…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Spring Evening on the deck…

It’s that wonderful time of year when the evening is just simply gorgeous and it’s not too hot to sit out. The mosquito’s haven’t totally moved in, but they’re trying their best. There’s a light breeze blowing and the birds are chirping. It’s a piece of Heaven tonight.

Of course I’m sitting with my laptop working on Chase. Yep, I said Chase. Oakley is now in the hands of my editor and I’m two chapter into Chase’s story. This one has been pulling at me for some time, but I had to get Oakley’s story finished first. Chase is full of life and humor, but he has a soft side that not many people see. His story will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. I can’t wait to have it ready for my faithful fans.

I’ve been asked by many what my Mother’s Day plans are, well it’s easy. I have Church in the morning then meeting my brother and his family lunch. No way am I cooking tomorrow. Then it’s back home to do anything that hits my fancy. But if you know me and many of you may have already guessed, I’ll be writing. If the weather is nice, I might just sit out here on the deck tomorrow afternoon and write.

Hopefully now that Oakley is finished and Chase is on a good start, I’ll be able to get back to my regular blogging schedule. I’ve missed it so much and the interaction with all my cyber friends.

If I don’t get to it tomorrow, hope all of you have a wonderful and restful Mother’s Day!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…