Stepping back …

Good Sunday morning! Here in Georgia it’s chilly but sunny. It will be a beautiful day. For me, I’m sitting by the fire, enjoying the early morning quiet.

This morning’s post is about the rough draft. I’ve had the rough draft completed and turned into my editor for a week. I haven’t looked at the rough draft since I handed it over. But it has work to be done. I want to embellish on the story, add several elements to help bring his story alive, but I had to step back.

What do I mean by step back? Well, it’s simple. During the writing process sometimes we get too close to a project, then get burnt out. For some reason, the story started slipping away. I still had the bare bones, but the flesh and all the other things that make it a whole story seemed to go out of my brain. I had to step away from it.

Now, I think I’m almost ready to step back into the story. Of course, I’m in the middle of Maggie’s story, but it helps to get into another story to get the one that slipped away back into your brain. It’s still a little foggy, but I think I’ll do fine.

Have you ever had to step back in order to get the story going?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Oakley – The man…

Well it’s finally Friday! I’m ready for the weekend and some serious writing time. I’ve grabbed snippets of time this week, but only small amounts so I need to make up some word counts. Also I’m receiving the final edited version of Oakley from my editor today, so what does that mean, well it means Oakley will be out next week…

Let me introduce you to the man behind Oakley. This character was interesting to write about. He’s a strong, caring cowboy with a love for animals. Since he was a young boy he always dreamed of becoming a large animal vet and he made those dreams come true.

As soon as he finished vet school he started working at the Five Oaks Ranch, his family’s horse and cattle ranch in Georgia. There’s one thing about Oakley that makes him different from his other siblings, he’s old fashioned. He struggles with his old fashioned values at every turn, especially when Ridge hires a woman as a ranch hand. This infuriates him and makes him testy.

Of course Ellen, the woman Ridge hired is a rodeo rider and can handle anything they hand her on the ranch, but Oakley thinks women don’t need to do a man’s job. The only problem with that way of thinking is it will only lead to a lot of trouble between him and her. Their mutual love for animals pulls them together, but his ways put a massive wall between them.

This book is the 2nd in the Five Oaks Ranch series. So start with Ridge and work your way to Oakley. But Chase is on the horizon. Now that brother will give the reader a run for their money with his winning smile and love for life. He strives to be the best at what he loves and struggles with the reality of what can happen when you give up everything to chase your dream. Can’t wait to introduce you to Chase.

Go over to my website to subscribe to my newsletter so that you can keep up with all the news from the series and all the books coming out… www.stephaniehurtauthor.com.

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…

Feeling a little overwhelmed…

If you’ve followed my blog you’ve heard me speak of my editor and assistant quite frequently. Well, it’s with a very proud, but sad heart that I do this post today. She’s also my niece and has worked with me for about 5 years. She’s been my right hand, my cover designer, my editor, my shoulder on many occasions, and my friend.

She’s been accepted to the University of Georgia and will be leaving me. I’m so proud of her. She’s been going to college locally for 2 years. Now she’ll be moving to Athens, Georgia which is a couple of hours away. Her major is Poultry Sciences.

We have three more work days together and I feel like I have to get every cover designed for all the works in process. She’s reassured me that we’ll work via internet and phone. Also we’ve started up a publishing business as partners so we’ll be working long distance together.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of her and this is her dream, but I’m sad to lose her. I know she’ll go really far and one day she’ll be at the top of her career. So this is a shout out to her. She’s amazing.

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

Sometimes I wonder…

Have you ever wondered what would have been if… Sometimes I sit and wonder what things would have been like if I’d have followed my original life plan. I would be playing in an orchestra and probably in another country. Funny how things change, for the better.

As I was sitting last night working on my historical romance I got to thinking back to two years ago. My manuscripts were in a drawer in my desk. They were hidden from the world for only my eyes. Then my neice which is also my assistant and now my editor and business partner, she found them and read them. Oh my! It felt odd having my work read. I felt suddenly vulnerable.

It’s the same way I felt when she persuaded me to published the books. Of course we had to polish them up and make them ready. I felt open to let down. But amazingly enough I gained some faithful fans and many new friends.I’m so glad she gave me that gentle nudge, well it wasn’t real gentle, it was more of a push. Now I’ve embraced the experience instead of wanting to run and hide my head. I still don’t tell a lot of people I write.

But sometimes I wonder what would have happened if she’d never found them. Would I have eventually followed my dreams and published them? Would they have collected dust until I passed away and my son found them. Would he have published them or thrown them away? Hard to tell, but sometimes I wonder what if…

What do you wonder about? Is it something from the past or someone? Do you have a manuscript hid in a desk desperately wanting recognition? What do you wonder about…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…