Funny thing about the South…

I just love living in the southern part of the US. When we think it’s going to be icy we close schools. Well, if you guys don’t hear from me tommorow, it’s because I might not have power. We’re expecting freezing rain, snow flurries and then the temp is dropping to a low on Tuesday of 5 and a high of 26. Well when you live in Georgia that pretty much shuts down life as we know it. The stores run out of milk and bread. I’ve never understood that. I always think of snack foods and sodas.

Don’t get me wrong, I love snow, but ice not so much. That usually means that the power will not stay on long and then we’ll have trees falling and it’s just a mess. I do love snow in big quantities.

I do hope everyone stays safe during this huge snow event here in the US.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Fall In Love With A Cowboy Collection

Ok, I’ve listened. Lately several of my fans have contacted me regarding putting these three stand alone books together. So here it is in one neat little download. All three are Cowboy Romances and now you can get three cowboys wrapped into one for only $8.99. It’s available on Amazon ony for the moment. I will be expanding it’s reach when I see how it’s received.

Hope everyone is having an awesome Sunday. As for me today is our Fall Festival at Church. I’m excited and ready for the challenge. We’ve got food, games, inflatables, prizes, and lots of worshipping. So if you are anywhere near Milner, GA come by Friendship Church and check it out. I’d love to see you there.

It’s such a beautiful day in Georgia so get out and enjoy a festival or just a walk outside today. Get some fresh air.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Need another cup of coffee?

It’s a dreary morning here in Georgia. The rainy weather has got me in a state of drowsiness that goes beyond the usual. Already on second cup of coffee and contemplating another before I hit the shower.

I’ve been working on my soon to be released first book of the Saga ‘Women of Magnolia HIll’ which is “Victoria”. This book has been a work in progress for over a year. The changes have been on going and I’m pleased with the results. The cover is just awesome and depicts the feeling of the book.

As it’s based in Georgia, I’m totally engrossed in the history that goes with it. I’ve had to go back in time to make sure that I follow the right timelines. It’s been a fun journer and should have the official release date this week. It will be on presale at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Apple very soon.

Hope everyone enjoys their morning cup of coffee, tea, or whatever you need to get going.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

It’s raining outlines…

Here in Georgia we’ve had a years worth of rain in just weeks. When we walk in our yard we have to slosh through puddles. The grass is spongy. A little sun would be a nice reprieve. I know I saw the animals pairing up this morning 🙂 (Just a little Noah humor). Yep, I need to see some sunshine and soon…

As I sit on the couch with the recliner out and my laptop in my lap, I watch the rain. The lightning moves in and out daily. It’s good writing weather as we can’t go out and lounge in the pool or sit in the sun. Even working the garden is a chore due to the Georgia red clay.

But the blog is about outlines and writing. I know I’ve talked about them before but this is a little different. As I hinted before I’m working on a historical romance and it’s based around the Civil War. Well, I had to do a outline of the timeline of the Civil War. But that’s just the start.

To keep up with the family tree which is going to get tricky, I’ve started a type of family tree outline. As this is going to be a Saga and go through to today’s time I’ve got to make sure to keep the mamas and papas and kids straight. Now as a writer this can get crazy if you’re writing and forget who belongs to who.

Well, then there’s the outline for the story itself. I definitely need this to keep me straight. I don’t need to kill anyone off that’s important for future parts to the Saga.

By the way, it will be named the “Women of Magnolia Hill Saga” and the first book is “Victoria”. I’m already almost 20,000 words in and only part of the way. This is going to be a long one, so get ready.

So far I’m up to 3 outlines for this story. Usually I only have one, so this is a record breaker for me. Do you use outlines? If so, have you ever had multiple outlines for one book?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

History lesson while writing :)

As I told in my last post I’m working on my historical romance “Magnolia Hills”. It’s based in a small Georgia town during the time before, during and after the Civil War. I’m a history lover, but when I started getting into the parts where the war was ready to start I had to do some thinking.

I realized that I had to do a Civil War timeline. There’s no sense writing a historical romance that doesn’t follow history correctly. Of course some of the elements will be changed for dramatic effect, but the real history I wanted to get correct.

The problem was it’s been a long, long time since I studied the Civil War. Yes I’ve watched movies and read books relating to it in the last couple of years, but nothing historically correct. So it was time to do some googling. Google is such an awesome tool for a writer. I just typed “Civil War Timeline” and boom there it was.

I’m glad I did it because I had two of the battles swapped around. That would have been bad. It could’ve totally rewritten history. Nah! Just kidding. I’m sure most readers wouldn’t have even noticed the wrong battles, but I would have and I’m pretty sure my reviewers would have raked me over the literary coals 😉

Well, hopefully I’ll have something to post in the next couple of days. I’m excited about getting this one done. I’m also working on the last bits of “Faith Through The Tears”, but Magnolia Hills seemed to scream a little louder.

Come over to Twitter and give me a follow at

@StephanieHurt4

. I look forward to tweeting with you…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Herds of Lightning Bugs

You may think I’m joking but as I type this post I feel surrounded by blinking lights. I love lightning bugs. They remind me of being a small child and running around catching them in a mason jar and sleeping with them beside the bed. I remember catching one at a time. But this year they seem to have multiplied. Everywhere you look they’re are hundreds blinking.

It’s a nice, sultry night in Georgia. The rain has subsided and made way for clear skies. I’m enjoying sitting on my patio working on my current book as my hubby listens to guitar riffs on youtube via his phone.

It always inspires me to write when I sit outside in the twilight and watch the sun sink into the horizon. I feel like the sinking sun sometimes. As I work on the finishing touches of my latest work I wonder how I got this far. Well, for one I took a huge leap and jumped.

My mind is sort of like the lightning bugs. I keep coming up with new ideas for books and they just keep blinking in my head. I guess that’s a good problem for a writer.

Let yourself just drift into a story and watch what happens. I even came up with an idea about a children’s book just watching the lightning bugs. Funny how the ideas just pop into your head.

Hope everyone had a great Father’s Day. It would have been nicer if my Dad would have been here, but I know he’s up in Heaven smiling down on me tonight. Don’t forget to thank your Father above for all you are and have.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Being a Southern Writer

I’m often asked what it’s like to be a writer from the South. I usually shrug and say it’s like being a writer from the North I guess 🙂 Then they laugh and say they mean how do I write and not show my Georgia girl drawl in my writing?

Ok how do you write in a Georgia drawl 🙂 As a girl from the South I usually put a little southern flare in my writing I have to admit. It’s hard to take the southern out of the girl. I’m not ashamed of my Georgia drawl, because without it I wouldn’t be me.

Do you write in your own speech pattern? Sometimes it’s hard not to put some of yourself into your writing. So don’t try to change yourself just for your writing. That’s what makes you who you are. If you change who you are, you’re going to change your writing.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you….

What’s in a name?

Good Monday morning to all my friends. It was a wonderful weekend here in the deep south. We had wonderful, sunny weather. I’d planned on doing a lot of writing, but only got in a couple of chapters. Guess that’s better than nothing.

As I was doing my normal morning tour of my book sites, I started thinking of book names and how hard it is to actually name your work. So here are five things to think of when trying to name your work…

1. The name has to be somewhat close to what your book is about. You can’t name your book “The book of numbers” and the book be totally about letters. The name needs to at least bring about the book theme. Nothing is more disappointing than to pick up a book with an interesting name and find out the book has nothing to do with the name.

2. You have to add interest. Most people look at the title and pick the book based on the title. A lot of people don’t even read the description if the title is eye catching.

3. Be creative. Don’t just go with the first thing that pops in your head. Look up different ways to word what you want to say. Get out the dictionary and look up different words that mean the same thing.

4. Do you want the name to be just one word or several words? One word titles have to pack a huge punch because that one word has to draw in potential readers.

5. This is what I normally do. Google the name you come up with. If several books have the same name then you probably want to make a few changes. When someone googles your book name you want them to find you, not everybody else too.

Hope this helps in some way. Have a great Monday!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Burrr!!!!!

Well the snow missed up in central Georgia last night. But we did get an arctic blast. It’s 29 degrees on my thermometer this morning. It was definitely a brisk walk to my office this morning.

It’s one of those mornings when I’d love to stay curled up by the fire either writing or reading. But it’s that time of year for us accountants. I have five hundred things to complete before the IRS releases us at the starting line.

Hope everyone has a great Friday. By the way, yes it’s Friday and my son is out of school Monday for the MLK Holiday, so we will be sleeping in. Looking forward to a 3 day weekend, well somewhat of one. I don’t have the luxury of taking the whole day off Monday. I might lounge around in my pjs a little longer than normal Monday 🙂

As always, good writing and May God bless you!

Reflecting by the fire…

It’s a brisk, sunny southern morning here in Georgia. I’m enjoying my coffee while sitting by a cozy fire. A nice way to start my Saturday morning. My husband took our son fishing, so I’ve got the whole afternoon to work on cleaning the house, my manuscript and relaxing.

I woke this morning with a fresh new feeling. I feel like my writing muse is back. Hopefully it will continue so that I can finish “Rekindled Flame”.

This morning a whole new manuscript crossed my mind as I lay in bed not wanting to get out of the warmth of the blankets. The only problem is I have to finish the one that is on schedule and I have about eight more started. Funny how the writing mind works. One minute you’re only thinking about a manuscript and the next you’re working on eight at one time.

Well, as for me, I’m glad for the escape that my writing gives me. Sometimes in this busy world we need that to get by and other times we need it just to manage our stressful lives. Through my writing I can ride horses, run a ranch, go to exotic locations, and pretty much live out my fantasies. Don’t worry, nothing crazy, just a country girls dreams.

So, I hope this post finds all of you well, happy and content. Remember to never give up on your dreams because you only live once, so live the way God intended you to live through Him.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!