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…

Friday morning Inspiration

Good Friday morning. Here in Georgia the clouds are rolling in and we’re expecting storms this afternoon. But this morning I’m feeling inspired. It’s funny how just reading your social media posts can inspire you. As a writer inspiration is a big thing. It’s really hard to write if the inspiration is not there.

I love to see other authors posts and their success. It inspires me. I talked with a couple of authors one day and they said it makes them depressed to see how well other authors are doing, but for me it inspires me. I’m proud for my fellow authors. It’s great to see the authors do well. It gives me some hope in my own career.

What really inspires me is the posts from once traditionally published authors that have gone Self published and succeeded. It makes me give a fist pump in the air, knowing I made the right decision. Self publishing is getting more recognition. With self publishing you are the publishing crew, the editor in most cases, the cover designer in most cases and the cheering committee. But it’s your business and you can run it the way you want to. It just seems to work if you’re inspired to take the big steps. So watching other authors succeed makes that step a little easier.

How are you inspired in your writing?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday morning writing

Good Friday morning everyone! Yes, it’s finally Friday. As I sit here sipping my coffee I think about the work at hand. I have a couple of books in the works, but which one do I work on for the next hour before I get ready to go out to the office?

Some days I can’t decide which book to work on. When you have several going and they all call out for attention, what do you do? This morning is one of those times. I’m almost completely done with one, but I just started another one that’s crying out too. Of course I have the outline ready for two more that have been running around in my head. I even dreamed of one of them last night.

Two of these books are 2nd books in various series and I really need to get them out soon.

How do you figure out which one to work on when all of them are crying out for attention?

I hope everyone has a great Friday. Now on to the manuscripts…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday morning…keep the coffee coming

Well tax season is almost over for the most part. Only 5 days left of the regular season and boy am I ready for a break. I have all of these characters screaming in my head to be released, but time just hasn’t permitted much writing time this week. I walked into my house last night at 8:35 and grabbed a ice cream bar, then collapsed on the couch. I never even picked up my laptop.

As a writer we need to have that time to let the characters spinning in our head to express themselves. They tend to get really noisy when we don’t. As I laid my head down on the pillow last night, my characters were screaming in my head. Somehow, I guess through exhaustion, I pushed them into a quiet space and gave them a time out. I did promise them that starting Wednesday they’d have full reign.

So, as I sit here giving myself a little social media time, I also sip my 2nd cup of coffee. The day is starting off as a gorgeous, sun filled day. I’d love to just grab my laptop, find a shady spot in my yard and write the day away, but taxes are calling.

Hope everyone has some really great plans for the weekend. As for me I put on my Children’s Minister hat tomorrow. It’s our annual Easter egg hunt. I can’t wait. I get so excited for the kids. I remember so vividly how much fun that egg hunt was. But as soon as I get home it’s back to tax returns, yep it’s that last few days crunch time. Hey, not complaining, that’s what I went to college to do, right? Ok, so I have to keep reminding myself of that. But it would be nice to just sit down everyday and write. Sales have got to get better before I do that 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

It’s Finally Friday!

If you haven’t looked at your calendar, yes it’s Friday. This has been the longest week in many ways and then again it’s been really short. I was blessed this week to have my assistant home from UGA for a couple of days to help me in the office and with some covers. We finally finished the paperback cover for Finding the Right Time. It’s awesome and I’m so excited for it’s release March 31st.

Along with good, usually a little bad comes. One of my clients and good friends found out she had cancer this week. It was such a blow when she called. It made me think about a lot of things. This was such a shock to her and her daughter. But she’s handling it with such strength and positive thinking. I would hope I could do the same thing in such a situation. My prayers are lifted up to her today.

As for my writing, I received some wonderful advice this week about writing. It helped me to think about some of my previous releases. Did you know that even the most famous writers go back to their first releases and revise them? It’s funny when we first start out writing it’s a learning process. The more we publish the more we learn. I’ve learned so many things over the last couple of years through writer friends and lots of research. So, when I get a little time between manuscripts, I might revise some of my earlier works. We’ll see how that goes, especially the time between manuscripts 😉

It’s Friday and I hope you are planning a fun weekend. It’s supposed to be a rainy last half of the weekend here in Georgia. I’ll be working on tax returns, but I do have some time scheduled in to work on the book that’s currently taking over my brain. I’ll give you a snippet later on, but for now, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

As always, good writing and May God Bless YOU…

Friday and Romancing the Coffee

Good Morning! It’s Friday people. It’s the last day of the work week for most, but for an author that works a full time job it’s the start of the long work weekend. I work everyday on my manuscripts. Some days not as long as others and especially at this time of year. I have deadlines all around me. There’s W-2’s to finish, end of the year balancing, 1099’s, Tax return prep, manuscripts that are being finalized, covers to design, editing to do, VBS pre season prep, and dare I go on, on my!

As I sit here nursing my second cup of coffee, I contemplate my morning. I have a hour or so of social media, blogging, and a little editing before I go to the office. It’s funny the life of a writer. I sit down at my computer and my fingers automatically go to the keyboard ready to write. It’s just natural for me to put my thoughts in writing.

Do you use your morning effectively? The morning hours are very productive for me. It’s the mid day that I sometimes get a little foggy, but then as I sit down after dinner I get creative again. Generally I’m not a morning person, but after about two cups of coffee I start to wake up and get inspired. This morning I have a crackling fire going and a sweet little bird on the banister outside the window watching me. Of course he probably thinks my head is a nest as I’ve yet to run a brush through my hair or even get dressed for that matter. This is “Me” time. The sun is spreading across the front lawn and the world is starting to come alive.

As you know, I love romance and in the mornings I love to write a little and feel the power behind romance. Have you ever felt it? If you’re a romance writer or reader for that matter, you’ve felt that power. It draws you in and refreshes your faith in life. Yeah, I’m a romance advocate. I had a reader tell me the other day that they don’t believe in romance, well they received a long talk about the possibilites of romance. Needless to say they laughed and said they’d give it another try. But they have read all my books. That’s a start.

Well I’m almost done with my Friday morning rambling, but I must leave you with this question. Do you believe in romance? It’s a simple question. I’m curious about your responses. With romance being the best selling genre in books, I’m pretty sure at least more then 50% of you do.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday morning Post – 2nd cup

As I start my second cup of coffee I smile. The day after the 4th of July celebration is always sad to me. It means summer is almost over. School will start in a little over four weeks and I need to start thinking about Christmas shopping. Wow time flies when you’re having fun 🙂

I spent my 4th of July at my mom’s lake house which was fun. Although it rained we had a great time with a fish fry and lots of conversation with friends and family. It was the first morning in a while that I didn’t get up and blog. No WiFi at the lake 😦

As for writing I’m busy working on two novels that are taking over my brain. The first one is a historical novel based on the time surrounding the Civil War called “Magnolia Hill” and the other is the 2nd book in the “Lean On Him” Christian series called “Faith Through the Tears”. Also just sent in a guest blog post to the Southern Writer’s Magazine and hope to hear soon when it will be posted. I’m still on a smiling high from being in that wonderful magazine this week.

I think I may need a 3rd cup of coffee before I head across the driveway to the office. Hope everyone had a great holiday.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Sneek Peek Friday…

I’m super excited that my 2nd book in the “Lean On Him” series is almost completed. The cover is almost completely ready. I’ll do a cover reveal on Monday, which I can’t wait to do. It’s so simple but yet says it all.

This series is my Christian Romance series and it covers emotions and life changing experiences. The difference is every experience is handled with Faith in God. It shows how faith can waver and give you pause. The books are meant to inspire and hopefully raise you to a new level of spiritual awakening.

Here is an excerpt from “Faith Through The Tears”, Hope you like it 🙂

The first night she was admitted into the hospital this time she told him to tell Amanda to come see her. She needed stationary and a pen. He was a little confused because they had a will. But he called Amanda and she came in fifteen minutes later.

She grabbed Rachel’s hand and smiled. “Hello my friend. How are you tonight?” It tore Amanda’s heart just watching her friend suffering. Rachel had become a great friend since her marriage to Luke. Since Randy and Luke worked the same shift, Amanda spent a lot of time with Rachel and the girls.

“I’m not good Amanda. I know the Lord is getting ready to call me home.” A tear slipped from her eye as she tried to be strong. This was so hard, not the dying but the knowledge that her little girls would not have a mommy.

Amanda put her hand to her mouth to stifle the sob that surged forward. “Rachel, don’t talk like that. You’re strong and I know you’re going to beat this again.” Rachel closed her eyes and squeezed her hand.

“Not this time. He came to me in a dream and told me to get things prepared. I’m not afraid. I’ve been ready since the day I gave my heart to Him.” She got quiet for a moment and then took a deep breath. “I need you to help me do something special for the girls.”

“Anything, I will do anything you need me to do.” She pulled the chair up to the side of the bed.

“Did you bring the items I asked for?”

Pulling them from her purse, she handed them to Rachel. “I had some really pretty stationary with roses on it. It made me think of your rose garden at the back of the house.”

“Will you help me write letters to the girls? I need you to write them as my hand shakes too badly. I would’ve asked Randy, but you know his handwriting. The girls would have never figured it out.” She tried to laugh, but she wound up coughing instead.

“Just tell me what to write.” Her heart was so heavy. To think this poor mother was having to compose a goodbye letter to her two precious girls. This was almost too much to bear. She had asked Luke last night why God was taking such a precious person when she had so much to live for. He’d held her as she’d cried and he told her something that she knew but refused to admit. The Lord has His reasons and it’s not for us to ask why.

Slowly Rachel recited the letters to Amanda. She stopped several times to get her composure. Amanda wiped at her eyes constantly. The letters were so sweet. She’d written three for each of the girls. One letter was for after the funeral, one was for the day they graduated from school and the third was for the day they got married. She’d thought of everything.

When she was done, she smiled and seemed to relax. “Now I can be there with my girls for their big days. One more thing I need to ask of you. Will you make sure that they know about girlie things like dance class and dolls. I know Randy will do his best, but you’ve seen how their hair looks after he gets through with it.” She managed a good hearty laugh then. It was good to hear that laugh. Amanda held it locked inside for future daydreams.

“The girls will carry you in their hearts as long as they live. I will definitely be a part of their lives and make sure they have matching clothes and ballerina classes. Don’t worry. They will be well taken care of.” She reached over and hugged her close. This was hard losing a close friend.

Well, that’s just a snippet. I can tell you this, I’ve gone through a lot of tissues while writing this one. It’s been emotionally draining, but it’s also satisfying. The words have flowed as quickly as the tears, but most of the tears are of joy.

I’ll keep everyone updated on the release and Monday will be the cover release…

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Writing Backwards

Have you ever started a book at the end of the story and worked your way forward? Sometimes when I sit down with an idea for a book I start at where I want it to go. As you know from previous posts I like to do an outline for the story line. That way I stay in line. But sometimes it’s the end result of the story that drives me on.

I have a book that I’m working on and I’ve worked mostly on the ending. You may be going are you crazy. Well, yes, but that’s beside the point. The ending seems to inspire the beginning. It’s not as hard as it seems. Try it sometimes. You might be amazed.

Be sure if you do this method of writing that you keep the first part in the same style as the ending. An outline helps to keep that part in check. It’s really fun. It’s like walking backwards and using a mirror. You can always see where you’ve been, but you also see where you’re going.

Let me know if you’ve done this before. Or tell me if you try it out and if it helps. Sometimes the best stories start at the end and work their way backwards.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday! Waiting on Weekend of writing…

If you haven’t glanced at your calendar, yep it’s Friday. The last day of the work week for most of us. Of course if you’re a writer, it never ends. Which is good because if it’s your passion, then you look forward to the stolen moments when you sit down with your laptop or pen and paper and you just spill your heart out.

As I’m working on the finishing touches of one of my manuscripts I do hope to have the time tomorrow to get it ready for my editor. Of course that means a couple of hours of constant attention paid to it. As the weather is supposed to be pleasant I might just grab a lawn chair and sit under a tree and let the birds inspire me 🙂

I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to schedule your time or it won’t work. When you have a busy life already and you try to fit in writing time, it has to be planned. Of course you know as well as I do, sometimes the inspiration to write over loads your brain and you have to rearrange that schedule. Yep, like in the middle of the night when you have it in your schedule to sleep. That character just keeps nudging you in the shoulder shouting “GET UP!”.

Hoping all have a great weekend and good luck with your writing time. Don’t forget to make time for your family and Church on Sunday. Inspirational time is very important…

As always, good writing and My God Bless You…