When writing Historical Romance…

Have you written historical romance yet or a historical thriller even? To me, writing historical romance is more difficult than contemporary. Why? Well, let me explain.

As I was working on ‘Lily’ yesterday, I got to a part where they were stepping off the train in a new town. That sounds simple, but then I thought about the towns description. Now this part is based in the late 1890’s, so what was around in that time period? Were there still wagons around, had the car been invented (no, I couldn’t remember when the car was invented), or did some towns have electricity then?

The funny thing was, in one part, and yes, it’s still a clean, Christian historical romance, but as the couple walked down the sidewalk they come across a ‘brothel’ and since my main character ‘Lily’ is from a small, Georgia town, she asked about what it was. So, I looked up words for a brothel from that time period, gee I hope nobody looks at my Google searches! Needless to say, the thesaurus was my friend, yet again.

There’s so much to writing historical literature that many don’t think about. Your character can’t simply walk into a room and flip the light switch. Yeah, I had my character walk into a dark room, then realized she needed to light her lantern, so I went back and wrote that in. I had a giggle about that one. Poor thing, I left her in the dark for 5 whole paragraphs before I realized my mistake.

Since I’m writing four historical romances this year, all from different time periods, Google will be my best friend. It’s a good thing that history was my favorite subject in school, but of course, that was …. many years ago, we won’t go into the number of years. As my son puts it, I am part of history, meaning old history. LOL!

So, have you tried writing historical romances? Did you have a hard time keeping it historical, without including more contemporary elements?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

By the way, Lily is now up for preorder!

What’s coming up…

Lily Release ad!

As most of you know, I schedule my books and try to stay ahead of myself. Well, this year I’m way ahead of that. My 2016 writing is scheduled down to the date the manuscript has to go to the editor, the day the preorders have to be on each site and the release dates. It’s kind of exciting to know what’s coming up.

So here’s a list of what’s coming up for 2016:

Seaside Beginnings front cover Seaside Beginnings – February 17, 2016

Lily front cover Lily – March 27, 2016 (Book 3 of the Magnolia Hill Saga)

A Light Upon My Heart – April 30, 2016

The First Mate’s Lady – June 5, 2016 (Continued from Safe in the Pirate’s Arms)

Finding the Heart – July 1, 2016 (Book 2 of the Alpine Series)

Sowing the Right Seed – August 5, 2016 (Book 4 of the Lean on Him Series)

Georgia – September 5, 2016 (Book 4 of the Magnolia Hill Saga)

That’s just through September, but wow, this will be a busy year for me. How exciting! So, how’s your schedule going for this year? Have you thought about scheduling things to make it easier for you?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

If I could go anywhere…

Good morning! It’s Saturday and sunny, but really cold here in Georgia. I was thinking about things on my bucket list. Do you have one? Come on, you know there’s something you’d like to do before you leave this place or maybe somewhere you’d like to go.

For me, I’ve always wanted to visit Switzerland. Even when I was young, I’d dream of the snow-capped alps and green meadows below. Once I wrote to the Swiss tourist bureau about a report I was doing on Switzerland. They sent me a whole package on the country. It was great as I went through all the pictures and pamphlets. I was in a dream world, for a while at least.

Well, since I did the research for my book, Tuscany, I’ve added that to my bucket list. As I researched the places and food in Tuscany, my heart was lost to it. Maybe one day I’ll brave a plane trip over there, but I don’t know. It’s nice to dream about it. Since I’m a writer, I can live through my characters. When I wrote Tuscany, I imagined being there. It took me away to another place. Once the book was at the end, I felt sad. So, yes another book set in Tuscany will be on the horizon, but probably for next year.

So, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Switzerland Tuscany

Celebrating 22 years of Romance!

Today is our 22nd wedding anniversary! It’s hard to believe it. I talk about romance a lot in my posts, of course, I’m a romance author, but also I live it daily.

As I’ve always said, one of the tips to a great marriage is to keep the romance alive. We strive to do that in our marriage, daily. Whether it’s the quick kiss as we pass by one another or the hugs over the stove as I cook dinner, we’ve always showed our love, never embarrassed to express it in public. Of course, our son tells us to behave, which we don’t usually listen.

I’ve heard many people say that as the years pass by, the romance goes away. With us, it just grows each and every day. As the years go by, we begin to read each other’s mind, which can be a little scary.

So, with that said, how long have you been with your significant other? What do you do to keep the romance alive?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Happy Endings…

It’s Monday, already! I don’t think I was ready for Monday, were you? Over the weekend, I turned one book into my editor and started a new book, so it was a fairly productive weekend. But this morning, I’m just not feeling it…

Happy Endings… Does every book end with a Happily Ever After? Not all of them, but in the romance genre, they need to end on a happy note. Of course, if it’s a series that continues from one book to the next, then it might not be a happy ending, but the final one should be if it’s a romance. Why is that? Well, let me explain.

Did you know that most editors, well the big publishing house editors, have in their submission guidelines for romance that it has to have a happy ending, if not, they won’t even look at it? Have you ever thought about it? Romance is a special genre, well, in my opinion. When someone picks up a romance novel, they’re wanting that good feeling that a romance can give them. They want to be taken to another world, away from the one they’re in. Romance novels should move you, give you hope, maybe make you cry or laugh, but when it gets to the end, well, the guy should get the girl. That’s why it’s called romance.

Now sometimes, if you’re writing a series and the book ends on a cliffhanger, then the happy ending will come at some time, but the series should end on a happy note. It’s just a reality of writing romance.

Have you ever read a romance that ended badly? I have and it left me feeling horrible, not the usual feeling at the end of a romance. I was stunned, to say the least. I could have expected this at the end of maybe a science fiction, or other genres, but not romance. The guy didn’t get the girl and at the end, they went their separate ways. All I could do was think, ok, there has to be another book coming, but that wasn’t the case. I felt empty inside.

So, does your romance have a happy ending? Does your reader have that satisfied feeling? Think about it, don’t you spend the whole book trying to get these two together, so why would you throw that out the window at the end?

Just a little food for thought on this Monday morning…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Coming out of the fog!

This has been one of those weeks where you want to go back, hit rewind and have a do over! Unfortunately, I caught the cold crud that’s been going around and have been in a fog since. Finally last night I was able to get more than a couple hours of sleep, which gave me a better morning.

When you’re a writer and in a brain fog, no words come out. It’s like they’re lost in the fog and no matter how hard you try, nothing comes out. Of course this hurt my daily word count, but believe me, if I would’ve written anything, especially in the last two days, it would have been unreadable.

Hopefully today will be a more productive day and I’ll soon be back to normal. Feeling a little more energy today, but the extra sleep helped.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Don’t forget to get your copy of “Seaside Beginnings” on pre-order! It’s officially releasing on February 17th…

Encouraged, not discouraged…

Good Monday morning! Hope all is well with you and hope my northeastern friends are warm and safe. We received a little dusting of snow here in my part of Georgia Saturday morning, but by lunch it was all gone. But it was nice to watch the flakes float down from the sky. Snow falling always soothes me and sets me for a great mood, but since I’m fighting a cold, I didn’t go outside to catch a snowflake, I stayed by the fire.

Now to my post, well, as most of you know I submitted my book Tuscany to Harlequin. After a wait, which I thought would be worse on my nerves, but for some reason wasn’t, I received a response. Of course it’s not the one I wanted, but as a writer, it’s part of the process.

Yes, they sent one of their really nice rejection letters. Of course I could’ve sat down and cried, gave up on writing or just shredded the manuscript, never to let it see the light of day again. But that’s not the way I do things. I saw it as encouragement, not discouragement. Why? Well, let me enlighten you.

The letter gave me some things that they thought I should change and some great advice on picking the particular genre of theirs that I submit to. To me, this was a great letter, not a devastating blow, as some writers say. It encouraged me to step up the game on Tuscany and delve into some deep edits. Of course some of the things they mentioned aren’t drastic changes, just some twists to the story, which I really like.

You might be saying, ‘she can’t be taking this that well’, but I’m a writer, this happens and I still have the fact that Tuscany made it to the top 55 of the contest with Harlequin, so I know it has possibilities. In my opinion, this is like getting a critique from some of the best editors in the business. So what some think of as a loss, I find interesting and plan to do what they said.

So, have you received a rejection letter before? How did you deal with it? Did you make the changes and resubmit?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Introvert, yes or no?

Good Monday morning everyone! Can you believe the weekend is over? Of course, today is a holiday for many, but sadly, if you’re an Accountant or Tax Preparer, well, you’re hard at work. Of course, I’m on holiday in my mind, which brings me to the point of this post.

Are you an introvert? The Huff Post did an interesting article recently with several points to think about. As I went over each one of them, I got the confirmation, I’m legit. I have almost all of the symptoms, but that’s alright. It’s not like I’m crazy or anything, well, let’s just say I’m not ready for the straight jacket, not yet.

I don’t go out a lot, which is alright with me. Actually, my husband is the same way, which works really well. I’m perfectly content, sitting at night by the fire, writing. I slip into the world of my characters and don’t need the world outside the house. Many worry about me, saying I need to get out, that it’s not normal to be content staying home. But, that’s me. Others have to have the outside world to feel normal or find happiness. I don’t and that confuses people.

As most writers can tell you, we see more of the world in our writing than most see in their lifetime. Just last Summer, I went to Tuscany in my writing world. It wasn’t crowded and had no lines to wait in. I got to experience it through the eyes of my characters and it was wonderful. Let’s just say, I had a craving for Italian food while writing this one.

Just because I enjoy the solitude of my home, doesn’t mean I’m antisocial. I’m with people a good bit of the time. I don’t avoid business meetings, Church, family get together’s or anything like that. I just don’t need to go out, just to go out. I’ve made my home a place where I’m completely content spending my free time. It’s beautiful and feels me with happiness to just sit and enjoy life. By the way, I do enjoy life to the fullest and don’t feel like I’mo missing out on anything, no matter what anyone says. I love my life!

So, are you an introvert? If you’re a writer, then 9 times out of 10 you are. Embrace it!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-real-reason-introverts-dread-small-talk_56854922e4b06fa688823798?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Christian Romance Writers

It’s Friday, finally. Good morning! Here in Georgia, it’s rainy and windy, but it’s Friday, so that’s good.

I’m a writer of romance, many genres, but my favorite is the Christian or wholesome genre. Several authors have messaged me before, asking how I write a wholesome romance and still have romance in it. Well, that’s easy, romance isn’t just about the intimate parts of a relationship. It’s the little things that you do. Romance can be a kiss, a touch, a look, or even a candlelit dinner. Maybe it’s just sitting by the fire quietly after a hard day at work.

Faith is a big part of my Christian series, “Lean on Him”. I wanted to integrate the needs of today’s Christian and add some romance along the way. The deep relationship that my characters have with one another and with Christ make these heartwarming. But they have their own set of problems along the way. Nobody has a perfect life here on earth, no matter how much you want to. We all have tragedy happen, mourning of a lost loved one, and mental issues that bring us closer or tear us apart, but it’s our faith that brings us through to the light. It’s all in how you handle it.

So, do you or have you ever read a Christian romance? I’ve been hooked on Amish Christian romance series lately. They’re interesting and leave you feeling good, which is the goal of a writer, right? Right!

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

By the way, if you get a chance, go by faithfulreads.com and check out my book that spotlighted with some great Christian writers today!

3 book ad

Writing Courses…

Ok, I know we’re busy writing the next big one, but have you considered taking a writing course. For the last six or more months, I’ve been taking a couple here and there. It’s been really enlightening. Actually, a couple of them made me rethink a couple of my works in progress to the point I rewrote several scenes.

What kind of courses, you ask? Well, I’ve taken one on Facebook advertising which was very helpful. Maybe you’re thinking, well that is too easy to need a course on, but no my friend, there’s a whole world of ways you can do your ad. I was amazed at the things I didn’t do with some of my former ads.

Then, of course, the marketing courses I listened to. I’ve been going about my marketing in the wrong direction. Who knew? Not me! Lately, I’ve been using some of the concepts I learned, like tags on my books, rewriting my blurbs, how I send out tweets and what I send out. Incredibly I’m seeing a positive upturn.

Then comes the writing courses. These will make you sit up and think. I’ve learned so many ways to make my individual voice stand out. It’s amazing what you can learn about not using adverbs and how best to use commas. Yep, guilty as charged. Some of the writing techniques I learned from bestselling authors has made my daily writing so much more productive.

So, have you tried a writing course lately? All of the one’s I’ve sat through online were free and by bestselling authors. As with many things today, some of them only give you an introduction, then want money for the more advanced courses. I’ve used what I learned from the introductions and put them to good use.

As always Great Writing and May God Bless You!