Throwback Thursday – Mistletoe Ranch

Good morning!

When I started the Mistletoe Ranch series I could see everything. It was as though I was living on the ranch and taking every step the characters did. Every detail was right in front of me. I loved writing this series. The emotions, the highs and lows, and the people, all of it felt real to me. Many of my readers have said that this was the most heartfelt romance series and I have to agree. I put everything inside of me in these books. But I do that with everything I write.

So, if you’re looking for a sweet, funny, heartwarming romance series, then grab all three books in the Mistletoe Ranch Series.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLNZQJB?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin

Lost work and Writer’s Block

Good morning! It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I’ve had a lot going on in the background. So, here goes:

I had a computer glitch back in February that had me checking on my backups for my writing. Guess what, my backups were not working due to a file error with an update to my computer. Soooooo, here is what happened. I lost, yes, lost three works in progress. One was almost completely finished and was supposed to be published in February. A writer’s worst nightmare.

Now, you might be saying, why didn’t she have a back up. I did, or so I thought. My writing program Scrivener backs up to my Google drive. But the update to my computers windows program was corrupt and it made the backups look like they were working, but they were not. Am I checking and rechecking now, yes! Almost to a obsessed level.

As writers, we struggle sometimes to put words on paper. And when things are going well and you have all of the right words, then lose them, well, it puts a damper on your writer brain. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, or at least that’s how I feel now. A few months ago it caused major writers block. I had to back track on all three works and remember what I’d created.

One light was that four chapters of the one almost completed had been sent to my editor via email so I do have those to get it back going. Another light was that one of the works had been giving me problems, so I’m going at it from a different angle and I actually like it better now. And another one I lost the whole thing, and will revisit it again one day, but right now I’m focusing on finishing one at a time. This is a major setback on my publishing schedule, but all things happen for a reason. I’ve been forced to sit back and readjust my writing schedule. It’s been a struggle, but I’m starting to get back in the groove.

If someone tells you writer’s block isn’t real, don’t believe them. I’ve never experienced it to such a level as the last six months, but now that I’m starting to see the words in my head again, I know it’s a very real phenomena that wreaks havoc on the writer brain. Some days I would struggle just getting a paragraph on paper. There were a couple of weeks that I didn’t write anything, not one word. My heart has been heavy with unwritten words. Writer’s know what I’m talking about. Our brains work on a different level and when the words back up, well it’s like logs wedged in a dam. The words are there, but they can’t escape. Then one day, boom! The dam breaks and they flood through the gates.

So, hope all has been well with all of you… Oh, and to top it all off, I missed an email from WordPress regarding my email needing to be confirmed, so my domain was suspended temporarily. Yep, when it rains it pours.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday Coffee & A Book…

Most people don’t have much time to read these days. Everyone stays so busy that the special moments found inside the pages of a book don’t seem to matter. But let me just say, when I do have a free moment, I try to get lost in between the covers of a romance, mystery, or paranormal book. It takes you away from the world we live in and takes you to another place or time.

So, try to find a few minutes every day to do something for yourself. And yes, I’m guilty of letting life take those minutes from me. I’ve been reading the same book for months and need to get back to it. I’m taking my life back, one page at a time. And that goes for writing too!

If you’re looking for something to fill that space, then check out some of my books. I put my heart in every word and hope that if just for a moment, I can take away the stress of the day for one reader. To start, check out Ridge, the first book in the Five Oaks Ranch Series. It’s Free! And one of my bestsellers!

As always, good writing, and May God Bless You…

When the story can’t go on…

Good morning! Hope all is well… Today I’m talking about that story. You know the one. The story grabs you by the collar and pulls you around until you do something with it. Have you ever had that happen? Most writers have. But today’s story is one that can’t go anywhere. What?

I, as many writers do, have a stack of unfinished manuscripts. The story filled our head and needed to be told, but only a chapter or maybe a couple of chapters in you hit a wall. And every way you try to get around that wall, you only end up digging a hole that just keeps going. So why do you keep trying? It’s the writer in you. The part of the writer’s brain that sees something that could be, but can’t be. You may say that doesn’t make sense, but hear me out.

For example, I had a storyline come to me during my writer’s block that seemed perfect. Almost too perfect. The beginning held so much promise. But as I wrote, the story got fuzzy, almost unrecognizable. All I was doing was putting words on the page just to make it to the next chapter. When I went back to read over what I wrote, well, let’s just say ‘Yuck’. It wasn’t the story I saw in my head. And it definitely wasn’t something I would publish. So, instead of wasting my time, I put it to the side. Maybe one day… But not today.

Although some discarded manuscripts do become a reality. One such manuscript was ‘Ghost Lover’. It was my first published manuscript. But the story started out over twenty years earlier. I had a vision but for some reason, it faded. I placed that manuscript in a desk drawer and left it there. I thought of it often but didn’t pick it back up until 2012 when my niece found it along with many other manuscripts. She read what I had on paper, yes it was typed on a typewriter, you know, old-school writing. Well, she said that it had a lot of promise.

I began to read the manuscript and realized, she was right. The story began to blossom inside my heart and poured out like water from a fountain. In only days I’d written over 30,000 words. So, from a discarded manuscript, one I thought couldn’t go anywhere, came one of my bestselling novels and my first published book.

So, my advice is this. If you have a manuscript that doesn’t seem to go anywhere, don’t totally give up. Just set it aside and come back to it later. It’s possible that it might become your bestseller one day or just collect dust in a drawer.

As always, good writing, and May God Bless You…

P.S. If you’re looking for your next read, give one of Ghost Lover a try!

Following Through with a Plan

Good morning! Yes, I’m back. It’s been a crazy couple of months. Between writing and tax season, I’ve been so busy. But I’m getting back on track and ready to get this blog back up and running. So, here’s to the rest of the year!

How many times have you made a plan and then didn’t go through with it? Maybe you set a book release and you couldn’t finish the book in time. It’s always good to make sure you write down your plan and try to keep to it. This keeps you from procrastinating. But what happens when everything is against you such as time, life, and all the things in between? Here’s a couple of tips for making things happen when you need them to…

I’ve been trying to finish my latest WIP and somehow I let my busy schedule take over. This is the first time in a long time that I didn’t meet my deadline. And yes, I procrastinated to the point that the book went to the back burner. As a writer, that hurts.

Let’s talk planning. When you have a book idea, excitement bubbles up and you’re pumped. But there’s more to it than just the idea. You’ve got to focus on the idea and make sure that it can be fleshed out into a book. This step needs a plan.

Look at it like framing a house. Without the frame, you wouldn’t have the house. A book plan is the same thing. Here are the steps to getting that book into the hands of your readers…

The Idea – Yes, this is the exciting stage where you get the spark. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the moment you’re sitting there and all of a sudden you have the best idea for a new book or series. But not every book idea comes to life. I’ve got so many ideas written down that didn’t meet the muster.
The Outline – Ok, I know some of you are more of a seat of the pants writer, but let me tell you, an outline can be the make or break for some ideas. When I have an idea, I sit down and figure out how it can go. Even if it’s just a simple, beat by beat outline, it helps you to know if you can make it work.
Flesh it out – Now that you have the idea and the simple outline, you can go back and give it some flesh. Fill it out and see if you have enough to make it a book. This is the point of no return or return to the pile of idea. Here is where you make sure that the idea can go the full gauntlet or get chopped off before it’s even finished.
Scheduling – Here’s where you need to be honest with yourself. If you think your idea can go 25,000 words, don’t schedule a release in 25 days. Maybe you can get it written in 15 days, but there’s so much more that goes into it than writing it. Make sure that you schedule every step of the writing process. I had to learn this the hard way. Here’s a couple of items to think about when scheduling: A. Cover design B. First Draft C. Revisions D. Read Through E. Editing F. Prerelease Marketing G. Final Draft, and this is just a few steps.
Writing – Now, here is the fun part. You finally get to put words on the page. The first draft isn’t perfect, so don’t expect it to be. Get the bones on paper, then go back and fill it in.
First Draft Read Through – This stage is fun. The bones of your book are there. You’ve finished the first part of the process which to me, can be the hardest part. This is the stage where you’ll know it the idea will actually make it. If the outline didn’t catch it, the first draft will.
Edit, Edit, Edit – Now, read it out loud as you edit. This is important before it goes to your editor. My editor has asked me before if I even read it before I sent it to her. LOL!
Cover Design – This process for me comes first, but a lot of writers don’t design theirs until this stage. Sometimes the cover comes to me with the idea. Make sure the cover represents your work. Don’t do something to deceive your readers. And simple still works…
Marketing – Plan your marketing early in the process. Set a budget and schedule some prerelease ads. You don’t have to spend a bundle to get results. Just make sure to stagger your ads. Don’t overwhelm yourself.
Release Day – Make this a party. Setup a blog post. Send out Tweets, Facebook posts, Pinterest, TikTok blurbs, and any other social media you use. Make it fun and relaxed.

I know this was a little crazy, but putting a book out to readers needs a plan. And my way may not work for everyone, but it does for me. Hope it helps in some way.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Podcast – Episode 1

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1500070/9161209

Well, the first episode of my podcast is up and running. I didn’t realize how nervous I would be. You’d think since my face isn’t showing that I wouldn’t be nervous, but I was. And wow, my voice is country!

So, as always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Knowing how to let go…

Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com

Good morning! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but I’m back at it. My current WIP is almost finished. Every book I write gets into my heart and it’s always hard to say goodbye. With each word I write, the end comes faster.

But, when you type that last word, how do you say goodbye to the characters that have filled your thoughts for months? How do you get them out of your head? When I finish a book, it’s like the characters are still there somewhere there, but I have to let them go. Every once in a while they come back to me and I wonder if they need to have more of their story written. Maybe a holiday special that brings all the characters together again.

Now that I’ve said that, some of the characters in my head are cheering, so maybe there will be something special coming for the holidays. Let’s just see which set of characters will win the coveted Christmas special. Keep watching for upcoming news on a release.

Oh, before I go, I want to let you in on a special post that will be coming tomorrow. The cover to Broken will be revealed tomorrow and a little snippet of the next book in the ‘In Harm’s Way’ series will be on the post too. So join me tomorrow for some exciting stuff.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

A little Thursday Throwback…

As writers, sometimes we forget about our back titles. Well, we don’t exactly forget about them, but sometimes we push them aside for our newer titles. I was cleaning out some files and was thrown back to when I first started publishing my work in 2012. It was an amazing time as well as stressful. But those older titles are what got me to this point. They are not as polished as my newer books, but they are where I started.

So, with that being said, I want to throw it back to my first published book. It was reworked several years ago, but it still holds a place in my heart. Also, it came from a story that I started way back when I was a teenager.

Let me reintroduce you to Ghost Lover.

The dying words of Jess’s mother are for her to find the love of her life. But with an overbearing father, will she have that chance? When he gives her a horse and riding lessons for her 21st birthday, her life changes. Is the cowboy behind the Black Stetson her soul mate? When her father’s partner decides to stake claim on her, who will win the fight? Suspense, tragedy, romance and a stranger in the shadows lead to a dramatic final showdown in Ghost Lover…

And then there’s the letter!

There have been a couple of covers for this one. Let’s go from first to current…

I love the newest cover. If you’re interested in falling in love with their story, then drop by amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Lover-Revised-Stephanie-Hurt-ebook/dp/B00NDI5AYW

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Indie Publishing… Growing

3 Ways Indies Can Improve Self-Publishing

As a writer I see a lot of writers come and go in the spot light. It’s amazing how many books are appearing on Amazon and other platforms daily. When I started publishing my work in 2012, you could stay on the front page of new releases for at least 24 hours. Now you’re lucky if you stay there for 24 minutes.

I’ve found out a couple of things about some of this craziness and that’s the indie authors that haven’t done their homework. Here are 3 of the many ways indies can improve self-publishing and the stigma that goes with it. But also, things have changed on that front too. Now more people are self publishing that ever before.

1: Editing. How many times do you edit your book? I know how exciting it can be to get to the words ‘The End’ and want it out there right then, but that’s a mistake. Make sure you read your work several times and one of those needs to be out loud. I recently went in and revised one of my first published books due to the fact that I put it out there way too fast. Editing is a very important part of the publishing process and as a self-publisher that’s up to you the writer. Also, there are many great editors out there that don’t cost you an arm and leg to hire them. It’s well worth the money and your work will benefit from an extra eye.

2: Cover Design: This is critical. When I look back at my first covers that I designed, I seriously laugh. They were so boring and uninspiring, but being an accountant I didn’t train on creative design software. That’s when I put me assistant to work as my cover designer. She took one look at my work and said ‘not happening’. She went to work and designed the awesome covers that now grace my books. This is the first thing that a potential reader sees. If it doesn’t inspire them, they will go on to the next book. And on top of that, make sure it’s relevant with the book and make it vibrant.

3: The Book Blurb: As a self-publisher this is solely your responsibility. This is one of the hardest things to do for me. Don’t get too out there. Make sure it’s very expressive and use lots of expressive words, but don’t give a lot away. If you give away the ‘who done it’ then there’s no sense reading the book. Make several different ones and have some other people read it. See what they think. Also, in the blurb, give the person a sense of thrill for picking up your book.

This was just a few of the ways that help a self published author. And remember, these are important parts of your book. Of course, the inside is important, but to get someone to actually see the inside, you need to get them to buy it first.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Organizing your Published works…

It’s another cool morning here in Georgia, but I’m warm and cozy under my blanket with my laptop. Today we’re discussing how to organize your published works. You may be asking what I mean, well, let me enlighten you.

With over 50 published books, sometimes I get lost in where every book is already published. I can’t remember which book is on which platform. Organization is needed even if you only put your books on one platform. So, here is what I do…

Platform Organization

First, I sit down and make a spreadsheet. The header includes all of the platforms that my books are on. The first column lists all of my books. This way I can mark off the books that are already on certain platforms. And this also helps when republishing older works with new covers. Doing this, I don’t miss out on having my books everywhere.

The moment I started working with this spreadsheet, I realized that I was missing several platforms for some of my books. This is missed opportunity, so everyday I work on at least one platform, updating files and getting my books everywhere.

	Published	Amazon	KU	B&N	Kobo	Apple	Smash	Audible	Google
5 Oaks Ranch Series
Ridge
Oakley
Chase
Luke
Maggie
A Christmas to Remember
5O Collection

Book Organization

Now, you may be asking how this is different. Book organization is a spreadsheet similar to the above one, but this one is book formats. In this one, I just copy the previous spreadsheet and change the header. In the header I input Ebook, Print, Audio, Front Cover, Back Cover, Blurb, and Publish date.

This has helped me to keep up with what needs to be done for each book. It’s like a checks and balances, but for books.