Romancing September Across the World – Day 4 – Michelle Betham

Good morning everyone! I want to welcome you to the 2nd part of Day 4 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, Michelle Betham.

Here’s the question I asked:

What has been the biggest inspiration for your writing?

As far as auhtors are concerned, it’s definitely got to be the likes of Jilly Cooper and Jackie Collins – both queens of escapism in my eyes. Reading their books inspired me to create my own brand of escapism, something that, hopefully, can transport the reader to a whole other world. That’s all I ever wanted to do with my writing – give people the chance to escape for a little while. And if I’ve managed that with even just a handful of people, then I’ll be more than happy.

But inspiration comes in all forms, and for me, music is and always has been a huge inspiration for me. I can hear a song, listen to a lyric, and all of a sudden a story will start to form. Music has helped me through many instances of writer’s block, it’s even helped inspire entire books I’ve written. I’m one of those authors who makes playlists for their books, and I have to have music on in the background when I write. I can’t write in silence. So, for me, music is extremely important. It’s definitely a HUGE inspiration for me.

Here’s a little bit about today’s author:

Michelle Betham is an ex-media technician turned author of hot, edgy, gritty romance, usually involving rock stars, sports stars, and bikers. But not usually all in the same book. Yet. She is both self-published and published through HarperImpulse, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

Addicted to binge-watching TV dramas she struggles to think of a life before Netflix, loves rock music, tattoos, spicy food, and Keanu Reeves – a crush that’s lasted over twenty years, and one she blames entirely on ‘Point Break’…

Her dream is to ride a Harley. And visit Las Vegas… And be able to eat any amount of chocolate without putting on weight…

She lives in County Durham, north-east England, with her husband and West Highland Terrier, where she can be found most days drinking tea and making up stories.

I’ve recently set up a website, and that can be found at www.michellebetham.co.uk

There’s my blog – http://michellebethamwriter.blogspot.co.uk/

And I can also be found on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichelleBetham

Twitter – @michellebetham

and

Pinterest – https://uk.pinterest.com/writerchelle/

Todays featured book is “Shirley Valentine Goes to Vegas”. If you haven’t checked out the her book, then here’s a little about it and where to find it.

Book Description

Shirley Valentine meets Sons of Anarchy in this raunchy, red-hot read! Lana Saunders is on a mission find the ‘new Lana’, the real Lana. After twenty years spent as a prim and proper businessman’s wife, she’s finally swapped beige cotton for black leather, and cardigans for tattoo sleeves! With the ink only just dry on her divorce papers, she’s ready to live it up in Vegas. What she doesn’t expect is to meet wickedly sexy biker, Eddie and is shocked when he asks her out. Not only does he send her sex-starved libido into overdrive, but the connection between them is unlike anything she’s ever experienced. So when Eddies asks her to stay with him in Vegas, the desire to fall into this gorgeous man’s bed and stay there forever is too tempting to ignore! Living with Eddie in Las Vegas is the most fun Lana’s had in years-especially when he shows her that there’s more than one way to ride on a Harley!-but soon she realises she can’t ignore her old life forever, particularly when her ex, Adam shows up determined to win her back! Author Michelle Betham gives Jackie Collins a run for her money in SHIRLEY VALENTINE GOES TO VEGAS, a story about what happens when you realise that life isn’t what you thought it would be…

AmazonUK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shirley-Valentine-Vegas-Michelle-Betham-ebook/dp/B01222DBCC/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437489960&sr=1-16

AmazonUS – http://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Valentine-Vegas-Michelle-Betham-ebook/dp/B01222DBCC/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437489960&sr=1-16

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

Romancing September Across the World – Day 1 – Melissa Foster

Good morning everyone! I want to welcome you to the 2nd part of Day 1 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, Melissa Foster.

Here’s the question I asked:

What has been the biggest inspiration for your writing?

Life is my biggest inspiration. I love taking real life situations and bringing them into my stories, making them relatable and real.

Here’s a little bit about today’s author:

Melissa’s Bio

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance (M/F, M/M, F/F), romantic suspense, thrillers, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa also co-writes the Love on Rockwell Island series with New York Times bestselling author Bella Andre. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success.

Melissa has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Her interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping others see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on social media or her personal website. Never miss a release! Follow Melissa here on Amazon and sign up for her newsletter: www.MelissaFoster.com/Newsletter

SIGN UP for MELISSA’S NEWSLETTER to stay up to date with new releases, giveaways, and events, and connect on social media to chat with me directly

NEWSLETTER:

http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/MelissaFosterAuthor

TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/Melissa_Foster

WEBSITE:

http://www.MelissaFoster.com

STREET TEAM:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/melissafosterfans

Melissa’s featured book is “Taken By Love”. If you haven’t checked out the Braden books by Melissa, then I personally suggest it. They’ll pull you in!

Taken by Love Book Description

TAKEN BY LOVE is a **USA TODAY BESTSELLER** and is the first of six hot, wealthy, and wickedly naughty Braden cousins, and the newest additions to the BRADEN series by New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Melissa Foster.

Daisy Honey fled Trusty, Colorado, after years of battling rumors sparked by her gorgeous looks and lust-inducing name. Now a physician on the brink of a promising career, she reluctantly returns home when her father is injured in a farming accident. Daisy expects the small-town girls who hurt her in the past to take cheap shots again—but she’s completely unprepared for a run-in with tall, dark, and wickedly sexy Luke Braden, the only man who has ever stood up for her—and the man she’s never forgotten.

Luke Braden is handsome, wealthy, and the best damn gypsy horse breeder in the West. After a restless youth, he’s finally ready to settle down—only connecting with women is nothing like connecting with horses, and he’s never met a woman worth the energy. After an arrest in a neighboring town, Luke’s past comes back to haunt him, and he realizes that his inability to find love runs deeper than he ever imagined.

A chance encounter sweeps Luke and Daisy into a world of passion. For the first time ever, Luke feels a connection, but Daisy’s life in Trusty is anything but permanent, and Luke can’t manage a future until he puts his past to rest.

Buy it now links
KINDLE US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2AWML4

KINDLE UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J2AWML4

NOOK: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taken-by-love-melissa-foster/1119696590?ean=2940149589319

KOBO: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/taken-by-love-love-in-bloom-the-bradens-book-seven

GPLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Melissa_Foster_Taken_by_Love_Love_in_Bloom_The_Bra?id=D5CWAwAAQBAJ

iBOOKS US: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/taken-by-love-love-in-bloom/id847669854?mt=11

iBOOKS UK: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/taken-by-love-love-in-bloom/id847669854?mt=11
SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/437132

Paperback US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/1941480004

Paperback UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/product/1941480004

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!

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

Hey 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!

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…

Coffee, 3 cups and still going…

Good Friday morning everyone. It’s been a great week of vacation. As I sit here writing this post, I’m working on my 3rd cup of coffee and thinking about downing the whole pot. I wonder if it would be weird to just drink from the pot and save myself the trouble of going back and forth to the kitchen. Thinking…thinking… nope, I’ll go back and forth to the kitchen.

As for my vacation it was great. I’m glad to be home, but the beach was refreshing and relaxing. It’s amazing to sink your toes in the warm sand and listen to the waves crash onto shore. I enjoyed spending my time on the beach writing. The inspirational surroundings made me write with a open mind. I finished the outline for Luke and Maggie, by the way they’re coming up really fast.

How’s it going with everyone else? Are you writing, if so what?

I’ve been really busy lately, with writing, getting ready for a book signing in September and on top of that I’m working with my friend across the pond, Rosie Amber, on Romancing September Across the World Tour. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about my Street Team which my editor Kaleigh started up. So I’m really busy. And did I mention I have several books in the works, with a looming deadline on two of them. But this is when I thrive.

So here’s a couple of things to keep you up to date…

Told you I’ve been busy. If any of you are in the Georgia area on September 26th, then come by and meet me. Also you can meet my editor too! Then of course the Romancing Tour starts September 1st. Rosie and I need your help promoting the tour. We’ll be announcing a Twitter hash tag soon, so keep an eye out.

If you’d like to join my street team, then go to my website and follow the crumbs. It’s easy to sign up and then you’ll get some cool swag, along with enticing tidbits before anyone else. Also, if you decide that it’s more you want, then follow the instructions to get a chance at ARC’s of the newest books coming out. I’ll be in touch with the members often, letting you know all the upcoming things with my writing and things going on in my head. Maybe I’ll even let you help with cover decisions, but you have to sign up to get those benefits. If you have questions, email my street team at stephs.street.team@gmail.com or just go to my website at www.stephaniehurtauthor.com!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Exciting News!

Dear Readers,

Many of you have probably read about me in some of Stephanie’s posts. I am her editor, cover designer, and pretty much her personal assistant! (: For the past few days I have been working on a very exciting project for her without giving her too much information. I am pleased to announce that as of today, the Stephanie Street Team is now up and running.

Stephanie’s Street Team is a place for any and all fans to join. I will be posting exclusive private chapters, cover reveals, and many other tidbits of information before they are released to the public.

There will also be challenges at all times on the site so that members ONLY can get a chance to win free books, swag, and many other exclusive pieces of information.

Now, most of you are probably wondering what the catch is here. I mean, Stephanie giving away so much awesome information there must be a catch. Well, there isn’t! You just keep doing what you are already doing, reading her books and posting on your social media about how awesome her books are! We will even provide you with posts and advertising pictures for your social media and blogs! How easy is that?!

Not only will you be getting, exclusive excerpts, awesome swag, and even free copies of the books once they come out! The most active members could also win Advanced copies (yes, that is before ANYONE else) once I get done editing them to help us make them the best that they can possibly be.

All of you are dying to join right now, I know! And here’s how you can do it:

Go to http://www.stephaniehurtauthor.com/street-team/
Read some more reasons to join this awesome team
Click on the log in/sign up button
Enter an email address and a password
We will approve you within 24 hours and will notify you that you have been approved
Start getting your exclusive information.

It wont even take you 5 minutes to sign up!

Me and Stephanie can’t wait to start getting to know all of you guys and for us to start making her books even more awesome! Hope to start meeting everyone real soon. For any questions please feel free to email us at stephs.street.team@gmail.com!

Have a wonderful day,

Kaleigh

I have much to tell, but some will have to wait!

First of all, I hope all is well with you this Tuesday morning. For me it’s going wonderful. I have news, but some can’t be told until later this afternoon, but I can fill you in on some of it.

The advertisement above is the first bit of news. Yes, I have another book signing event coming up in September. I’m getting excited already, so things are looking good. If you’re anywhere near the Hiram, Georgia area on September 26th then come by and let’s talk.

Another bit if news is that I’m working on a new book that goes in a totally new direction from my norm. It’s not my usual cowboy romance, but a contemporary romance with some history sprinkled in. I’ve been hinting for a couple of weeks about something exciting in the works, well this is it. It’s based in Tuscany, Italy. I told you it was a step away from my usual writing. I had this in my mind for a while, but suddenly it came rushing in and needed to be brought to life. So now, three chapters in, I’d say it is on its way.

Now, for the news that will come this afternoon, let’s just say my editor is working on it and she holds the key to unlock the news. I don’t even know all the details yet, which has me on the edge of my seat.

So, how’s your week going? I hope your writing is going well and that you’re working on something exciting.

As always, good writing and may God Bless You!

Outlines, good or bad…

I’ve been telling you about my surprise manuscript for a couple of weeks. As I sit here enjoying my coffee and the morning sun, I’m going over the outline for the new work. It’s a complete outline that goes to the words ‘The End’.

Some writers say they can’t work from an outline and others, well they can’t work without one. I’ve written several books using a outline draft, but it sometimes changed through the process. My new work is coming along well with the outline. This outline seems to flow with the way I see the story in my head. But I wonder if it will stay the same.

Here are some good points to using an outline…

1. The outline keeps you focused on the story and where it’s headed.

2. Outlines are not written in stone and can change.

3. If you have a detailed outline, all you need to do is make a chapter out of each line.

Since my outline goes to number 29, that means it’s looking to be a really long book. The details are there, all I need to do is pull each chapter from the lines I’ve written. With this outline I was able to pull the story that’s running around in my head out. When a story comes into my head, usually the whole thing comes in a rush and I can’t wait to get to the end. With my outline I was able to get the story on paper so that I’m free to fill it all out.

So, do you work with outlines? Have you ever tried? What was your experience?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…