Writing a complex character: for me it’s Luke

All characters have their complexities, but with Luke Cauthen, well, let’s just say he runs the race, leading by a head or two, maybe three. His story has been pulling at me since the start of this series over a year ago. I wanted him to be the youngest of the Cauthen men. He needs to have some influence from his older brothers, but also he’ll need their support.

With Luke, let’s see, how do I explain this man? He’s what some call a womanizer, but once you get to know him, you’ll figure that one out for yourself. One of his character flaws, well maybe not a flaw, but something that gets him into trouble with the ladies is he’d running from love as fast as he can. When a girl gets too close, she’s gone like an old shoe, out the door. Or is he running to love, but has to get the obstacles out of the way? Food for thought?

Another characterization of him is loyal. With the above comments you’re probably saying, what? Luke is loyal to the ranch. He’s never wanted to do anything but work on the ranch. That also gets him into trouble as he’s a hot head and when things don’t go the way he thinks is best for the ranch, well he goes over the edge. Usually ending up in a quarrel with one of the other three head strong Cauthen brothers.

But Luke can be tamed, and in this book you’ll get to know the woman a lot better. She’ll have him hogtied and over his saddle before he can blink an eye.

So, if you haven’t read any of this series, then I suggest you get to it. All of them are sweet stories of love, romance and family. Each of them has a character flow, but there’s always someone that can heal the wounds that flaw creates.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday Writing …

It’s Friday and the day before a holiday here in the States. I’m like a big kid when it comes to any holiday. I enjoy the family gathering together and eating lots of food. Yes, I remember that I’m on a low calorie diet, but I get one day a week to splurge and I’m picking tomorrow. But I’ll be as good as I can 😉

This morning I’ve been working on part of the manuscript that’s a surprise. I’ve stepped into a new world with this one and I’ll give you a little, itty, bitty hint, There’s no cowboy in this one! Oh no, not a cowboy in sight. Yep it’s hard not to add some boots or Stetson to someone. But don’t worry, I’m not giving my cowboys away, not at all. I’m just trying something different, we’ll see how that goes.

Have you ever stepped out of your normal writing genre? How did it go?

I’ll be giving a little away later, but for now this is all I can give you. Exciting things are happening and this is part of it. Maybe it’ll lead to something bigger and better. We’ll just have to see.

Hope all of you have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend! Here’s an early Happy 4th of July for my fellow Americans.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Storms…Thunder…Lightning…

Here in Georgia we’re waiting on the storms to roll in. As we need the rain desperately it’s an excited wait. For some though the thought of storms rolling in makes them uneasy and with good reason. For me, I enjoy a good summer storm, not bad mind you, just a little thunder and rain. It cleans the air and rejuvenates the plants.

I told in an earlier post about regrowing my lettuce. Last night my hubby and I planted my six starters. Since we’ve got an 80% chance of rain it’s the best time to plant them. Of course the kid in me went to the french doors that lead to the back patio first thing this morning to see if they’d grown. Yeah, I know I only planted them last night, but it’s exciting.

Several have asked how Chase is coming along. I have to say really well. He’s an interesting character to write about and maybe one of the most versatile in my writing world at the moment. I’ve learned a lot about the rodeo while writing this one. It’s been eventful to say the least. I hope to have a release date in the next week or so.

I’ve been playing with the idea of entering a book in the Mills & Boon RoWriLife contest. The contest will take a self published book that’s already been published, but since they have to be at least 70,000 words, well that means if I’m to enter I’ve got to get busy writing a new manuscript like ASAP! The fun thing is it will be a challenge. The first chapter and synopsis is due mid July and the winners announced in mid August. The winner then has until September 30th to produce a finished manuscript to turn into Mills & Boon. I’m planning on taking that challenge and yes I realize that if by some wild, off the beaten path chance that I get to the top choices, I’ll have to complete a full novel in just under three months. It’s possible and I’ve completed two books in that time that added up to a little more than that so I know I can do it.

If you’re wondering what the book will be about, let’s just say it’s in the outlining stage and has a couple of chapters under it’s belt. This book will step completely out of my normal realm of cowboys and delve into another type of sweet romance. I’m combining several of my loves into this one. The idea for the story came to me months ago and I’ve been lulling it over for a while, but we’ll see how it goes. If I could write it by just looking at the paper and let my mind project it out, well it would be complete. LOL! We’ll see…

What’s your plans for the day? Something fun I hope.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Downhill slide…

Good morning! It’s a sunny morning here in Georgia. The sun is streaming through the trees and into the windows as I sit here writing. It’s been a productive morning so far. My exercise is completed, my breakfast eaten and 2000 words typed into my manuscript. Yes, Oakley is almost done.

This book has been really fun to work on. I’ve enjoyed writing all of my books, but there’s something about this series that really pulls at me. I think it’s the fact that the whole story of each of the five siblings actually is already in my head. It sounds crazy but it’s true. Of course I do have the filler material to put together and that’s the time consuming part.

Let me introduce you to Oakley, the cowboy, the man. He’s such a old spirit with his old fashioned way of thinking. His heart is filled with compassion and so much kindness. As he goes about trying to understand his brother, Ridge’s decision to hire a woman as a ranch hand, he struggles with other feelings that start up.

Keep watching for updates on Oakley and the release date will be announced possibly this week. Also, with the upcoming release of Oakley, I’m giving away 5 copies of Ridge over at Goodreads. Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/137212-ridge

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Ridge Giveaway

Make sure to earn as many entries as you can! This is not a book you want to miss out on! ‪

March Madness Sale!

Every week day in March my sight will be having a different sale!

stephaniehurtauthor.com

Don’t miss out on these deals!

Emotional Roller Coaster…I don’t like roller coasters!

Good Friday morning to all of you. I hope you’ve had a great week. I’ve been a little unplugged mentally this week. Let’s just say my emotional state has gone up the hill, then dropped to rock bottom and then back up again. My brain hurts! I’ve gone from one extreme to the other so fast that I feel like maybe I have whiplash.

My week started with the revisions for Ridge. Yes it releases February 14th so the clock is ticking. Thank goodness the first draft went well and now it’s in the editors hands so, fingers crossed it’ll be ready for print next week.

On the hills of all of the reading, red markers and such, I lost a dear friend to cancer. That hit me in the gut and left me breathless. It’s hard when you see someone often and then you go to not seeing them. At least I know he’s in a better place and cancer free now. Heaven gained a true cowboy on Monday… He asked me one day if any of my cowboy characters were inspired by him. I smiled and said ‘you know it’. Will miss him…

As I trudged through the IRS released tax preparers to start tax filing. If you don’t know it, I’m an Accountant so my busy season officially started on Tuesday. I get excited when tax season starts and wait for the adrenaline to kick in, but I have to say, the older I get the less adrenaline that pumps through my brain.

The highest point of my week and the most exciting thing is that the date has been set for my book signing. What better day for a romance author to have a book signing than Valentine’s Day. It will be February 14th from 3 -5 in Zebulon, Georgia at A Novel Experience Bookstore on the square, I will debuting ‘Ridge’ on that day which is really exciting. So if you’re in this area on Valentine’s Day come by and see me, I’d love to meet you. Stay tuned for more details to come next week!

So as you can tell I’ve been otherwise occupied this week, but hope to be back to normal on Monday. Well, whatever normal is…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Five Oaks Ranch Series

Make sure to go follow the Five Oaks Ranch Series Facebook page at facebook.com/FiveOaksRanchBooks

and on twitter @5oaksranchbooks for opportunities to win copies and keep up with publishing dates, book

signings, and so much more!

Saturday morning writing…

Good morning all! It’s really cold here in Georgia. I’m sitting by the fire with my second cup of coffee and checking my posts. I love this time when I’ve got a little time to write posts, post on sites and work on my writing.

Today I’m working on Ridge, which is the first installment of the 5 Oaks Ranch series. I can’t help but smile as I write each part. As you know me well, I’ve got the outline completed and know basically where the story is headed. Some days I’m so excited that I go ahead of myself. No actually I do. If a certain part is calling out to me, I’ll create a separate word document and get it down. When I actually get to that part, just copy and paste. It helps keep the overcrowding of my brain from completely taking over.

Ridge is a special character to me. He’s got this rough edge that just makes him pure cowboy. The time he spent in Iraq during his two tours of duty have given him a edge that will cut the most unwilling intruder into his world. His only soft spot is his little sister Maggie. The smile she gives him makes some of the stone around his heart chisel away. But the fun part starts the minute he meets Mallory, the new ranch vet. Their sparring will keep you wondering where it’s headed. The fun part is how Ridge avoids things that are unavoidable. Can she break the ice that’s totally Ridge?

For the next couple of weeks I’ll be working on his story. If everything goes well you’ll be able to meet Ridge before New Year’s but let’s just see how it goes.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Thursday Morning Shout Out…

Good Thursday morning everyone. I know I’ve been a little lax in my posts, but I’ve been on a deadline with Her Wish For Christmas. It had to be downloaded by midnight Monday and I met that deadline with six hours left over. That book took a lot out of me because of the emotionally charged content. When I typed the last words and finished the edits I was tickled pink with the results. My editor finished the final read and when she was done, the smile that spread across her face was priceless.

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks around here. Of course with my other job as an Accountant, I had end of month, end of quarter and end of tax year. Also had Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat at Church. SO I’ve been a busy little bee lately, but if you’ve read many of my posts you know this is how I like it. The busier the better I always say.

Now that the Christmas book is in Amazon’s hands, I can focus on Ridge. It’s the first book in the new series that’s about a family owned ranch and it’s five children. Each one of them has their own special issues and personalities. Since I’m a cowboy romance writer at heart, this one is exciting. What can I say, I love cowboys and getting to write about them is fun. All I’m planning to say is I can’t wait for you to meet Ridge, the oldest brother. He’s my favorite sibling so far, but once I get into the other’s I’m sure I’ll fall in love with them too. Keep watching for updates on The Five Oaks Ranch series.

The article that I wrote for Southern Writer’s Magazine is out in their Nov/Dec issue. I’m really happy with the results and can’t wait to see the results. If you don’t already subscribe to this magazine, then I suggest you run, don’t walk over to their website and subscribe. It’s a must have for writers. Here’s a little snippet of the article.

Hope all is well with everyone and here’s a little shout out for my publishing service which is having a Christmas sale. We’re offering 10% off all services offered through our company. Find out more at our new website: horseshoe-publishing.com.