Romance for the ages…

Good Thursday morning… Romance, some believe in it, some don’t. It’s up to you. As a writer of romance, I believe in the possibility of romance for everyone. You just have to seek it out. Romance can be found in the simplest of gestures.

For some, romance is candles, wine, dancing … you know, the stuff you see when you look up romance, But to me, it’s in the slight touch of ones hand. It’s the look across the table that says I love you unconditionally. Sometimes romance can be found in a mere word, not just the three words in I love you.

When writing romance, authors have to spread romance through normal channels. In a historical romance, it could be the knight saving the damsel in distress. In a paranormal romance, it could be a ghost finding his or her lost love in the afterlife. In a contemporary romance, it could be as simple as buying a set of books for your love. It’s the simple things in life that bring the best romance. And to me, that’s the true romance, when it’s on a whim, not set up like a movie set.

Romance in it’s truest form can be intoxicating and passionate. Some never seek romance, they only seek love. How is that different? To this romance author, it’s worlds apart. You can love someone without romance. Love comes in many forms. You can love your partner and want to be there for every moment, but there may be no romance there. But when you combine love and romance, the possibilities are endless.

Yes, I’m what some call a true romantic. I strive to add romance in my marriage by the simplest things. Every night I make my hubby a sandwich for him to take to work the next day, and sometimes I add heart on the bag just to remind him of the romance we share. Sometimes we share just the touch of our fingertips as we pass in the hallway and just that mere wisp of a touch brings a warm fuzzy romantic feeling. You may think that’s all sappy, but to us, it’s the small things.

Tomorrow my hubby and I will celebrate 27 years of wedded bliss. I can tell you this, the romance hasn’t died and if I have anything to do with it, the romance never will.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday Thoughts & Coffee By the Fire…

Good Monday morning! I hope that you’re staying warm wherever you are this morning. It’s cold in Georgia and looks to be a dreary day with cold, icy rain. Burrrrr…. I’m sitting by the fireplace, wrapped in my fuzzy blanket, sipping coffee and writing.

So, here’s my Monday thought as I drink my coffee and get my eyes open. What length of book do you like to read or write? Do you love a long, 50K or more book, or a quick read of less than 25K?

Here are my thoughts on the length of a book that I read or write for that matter. I’ve heard from fans that say they love the longer ones, then others love the shorter ones that I write. It’s hard to know what will be the best length based on fans wants.

Now, if I’m picking up a book to read, it’s entirely up to my mood. If I’m kicking back and have the luxury of a whole afternoon to sit by the fire and read, then I’ll choose a longer book, but if it’s just a quick moment of sitting in a bubble bath, then sometimes I prefer a shorter book. Especially if I’m stressed or had a particularly hard day, then I need that quick, mindless read, meaning I need to see the story from start to finish in one sitting and have that heartwarming feeling of a Happily Ever After.

For my writing, it’s a toss up. Some of my series or books are setup to be quick reads. I make them short for a reason. A couple of my series have been wrote in short form just for those fans that write to me all the time wanting what they call, lunch time reads. But I do have long novels in my list. My new series that will start rolling out in March will be long books, each one.

So, long or short read… long or short writing… We all love to read and write, so keep it up and let’s get lost in another world or time at least for a moment or maybe for a whole day. Who am I kidding? We readers tend to read into the night sometimes… There’s nothing wrong with pulling an all nighter!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Finding your audience…

Good morning! How do you figure out your audience? What am I talking about? Well, who reads your books? What age group? What demographic? How do I know this stuff? LOL! It’s called search and figure out.

The reason I know this is that I’ve been looking into promoting books. This is one of the questions asked: “Who is your audience?” It makes sense. So here is what my new series ‘Wishful Harbor’ brought to mind.

Age group: 18 – 25 (This is just a start, but…)
Loves Small Town life
Loves sweet romance with a Happily Ever After
Hallmark movie lover (So far we’re describing me… except the age group ;))
Needs to get lost for a moment or two

Ok, so this is just a sampling, but you get the idea. The point is to steer the advertising in the direction of the above people. In other words, I’ll focus on hashtags that steer my tweets, promotions, and advertising toward this focus group.

Have you tried this concept? If so, how did it work?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You… wishful harbor design