June, the month for weddings!

June is the month for weddings, which means it’s the month for Romance! Now you know I love romance if you’ve spent any time around my blog or books. Of course it’s also the start of summer which gives everyone this wonderful feeling of freedom. I enjoy this time of year when things are relaxed and laid back.

Romance is real, not a myth. There are skeptics out there that say romance only exists in the imagination, but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t. Did you know that the tradition of a June wedding started really long ago? There are many historical reasons why, some not so romantic. Like the one where it says the bride would smell fresher in June since the annual bath time was usually in May or June. (Yeah, I gagged on that one.)

Then you have the weather. What better time to have a wedding then in June. The weather is warm and the pictures are gorgeous with the green grass and trees, even blooming flowers in the background. Sometime when you have a little time, google June weddings. It’s interesting reading about all the meanings behind it.

For me a wedding is romantic any time of the year. My wedding was in February. It was sleeting outside and really cold. But I think it was really romantic and I’ll never forget it. But unfortunately some brides want to forget their wedding days. That’s sad but true.

So let’s keep romance alive. I strive with every book I write to keep romance alive in the hearts of my fans. I’ve even turned some men into romance readers. Maybe it will change someone’s heart, maybe not, but it’s fun trying.

Do you believe in romance?

As always good writing and May God Bless You…

Researching the craft…

Good Wednesday morning! It’s beautiful this morning here in Georgia. The sun’s streaming through the window and the birds are chirping happily, but according to the news we have weather headed our way for the afternoon, but this morning I’ll enjoys the beauty in front of me.

Well on to today’s topic, Research. No matter what genre you write, a little research is needed. For me I read constantly and watch a lot of romance on television. It’s a must when you’re a writer. I try to keep up with what’s new and happening in the romance field.

As for watching romance on television, all it takes is a spark and off to the writing I go. My favorite station is Hallmark. The romantic movies give me inspiration and also an idea of ways to make a story flow. Remember, all of these were written by someone. Some of their movies are actually based on romance novels, which is exciting. Especially if I’ve read the novel, then I sit and compare it.

Of course I’m a avid reader, constantly plowing through the thousands of books to get to the one that just pops out at me. Sometimes it’s the cover that pulls me, or maybe the title. A cover can sell a book quicker than the blurb, really, it’s happened with me. I’ll see a cover that just pulls me in and that’s it. Of course I’ve been disappointed, but even a badly written novel can offer research ability. I make notes of what turns me off about the book. Maybe it’s wording or just the scene placement. But reading is a fun way to research about your genre.

Another way is to scan Amazon. Yes, I said scan it. Type in the genre or sub genre you’re currently working on, then see what’s selling. Look at the covers, the blurbs and the reviews, which are important. This will keep you current with the pull of the readers.

Don’t forget that if you’re writing about something specific like say rodeo, you’ll need to check out some reading on the subject. I’ve learned a lot about the rodeo since I’ve been writing Chase. As I get to a certain spot where I need a rodeo technical term, it’s off to Google. It’s amazing what you can learn. The other day I got caught up in a article and it actually inspired a whole scene that I’d not planned. Remember, I’m a outline person, but that outline can change 😉

So, do you research your genre? If not, I suggest doing a little checking. It’s amazing how much fuller your writing can be when you delve into the subject at hand. You might be pleasantly surprised.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S. Oakley is now available! http://www.amazon.com/Oakley-Five-Oaks-Ranch-Book-ebook/dp/B00YLNDNOM

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…

Mail Order Bride Research…

Well it’s raining and stormy here in Georgia this Monday afternoon. But that’s alright, we need the rain. Since I kind of let the news out slightly in a previous post, yes I’m working on a historical romance along with Chase, the 3rd book in the Five Oak Ranch series.

This book has been interesting to say the least. It’s based in the 1800’s just after the Civil War. The book is about a mail order bride from Georgia that goes to Montana to marry a man she’s never met. I don’t see how they did it. I’ve been researching the subject and it can be quite interesting to say the least.

Back in the 1800’s men went west in search of financial stability and adventure. Some left their wives home in the South and eventually sent for them, but the large bulk of them were single and when they finally settled in one of the western towns, guess what? Yep you guessed it, there were hardly any women. I can imagine these men were a little lonely and wondered if they’d done the right thing as they cooked their meals and washed their clothes.

It didn’t take them long to start sending advertisements to southern newspapers pouring out their hearts. Some would send romantic poems in order to lure in the ladies. It worked! Soon the mail order bride became a popular way for these men to finally have a wife. They’d write back and forth with the lady, then send a ticket for her to come west. Some of these correspondences were between the men and the father of the lady. In this case they don’t get acquainted until she steps off the stage coach in a dusty western town full of men. What a nerve wracking arrival to say the least…

It’s made for fun writing though. I’ve enjoyed delving into the history of the mail order bride as I make my story come alive. I’ll give a little hint soon of the title and then I’ll let you in on the cover. This book will probably come out in late summer. Since I love anything historical, this has been a thrill.

So what have you been up to lately?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

How do you like your eggs?

There are so many ways to have your morning egg. Boiled, scrambled, poached, sunny side up, the choices are endless. For me, well, I have one boiled egg just about every morning. I like scrambled eggs too sometimes with grated cheese. I’m an egg person.

If you think about it, eggs and romance novels go hand in hand. Yeah, I know, you’re saying ‘She’s finally lost it’, but you can’t lose what you didn’t have to begin with, LOL! Anyhow, as with eggs, romance novels come in many different genres. Everyone has a preference and when you start looking up romance on Amazon the choices are infinite. It’s amazing.

Some people like a laid back, relaxing romance that takes you away to faraway lands then others want that fast, racy romance that catapults you into another world and then drops you off somewhere you’re not expecting. Even with the different genres there’s sub genres. Yep, it get’s long when you hit that part of it.

When people ask me what romance genre I write in, well I have to think for a minute. I’ve written Christian romance, Historical Romance, Cowboy Romance, Contemporary Romance and the list goes on. Some of my books can fit into all of the above. It’s crazy how many are out there. It also drives a writer crazy when publishing because you need to make sure you put your book in the correct sub genre.

So, how do you like your eggs, ummm I mean romance 🙂

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…

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…

Coming out of the rain!

Good Tuesday morning! It’s wonderful to look outside this morning. The sun is streaming in through the windows and everything looks great. We’ve had rain and dreary weather for over a week, so the sun shining this morning makes me smile. Although it’s a little cool this morning, I’m not complaining one bit.

As a writer I go through many phases of writing. Some days I feel like it’s raining in my brain and the floods of thoughts seem to overtake me. It can be overwhelming, but then the sun comes out and the writing begins. I’ve been coming out of the rain for the last couple of days. During the busiest part of tax season I had so much going on in my mind that I couldn’t get a hold on my writing.

Now that the sun has come out I can’t seem to write enough. Of course I still have to go into the office and do accounting, but my mind is still focusing on the stories that cross back and forth. I’m a major multi-tasker so usually I have a note pad handy for those moments when I can’t get them to stop screaming at me. Some days as I do data entries which usually I do this automatically after over twenty some odd years I can do these in my sleep, I use my dictation app on my phone and write as I work. Yep I’ve got it bad.

If you’ve been following my blog the last couple of days you know I’m doing a fun giveaway of Ridge. This is because Oakley is coming out really, really soon… So keep up with all the news and subscribe to my website at stephaniehurtauthor.com for updates. Also, watch out for the questions that help you rack up points for chances to win a copy of Ridge.

I hope you enjoy your day and make the best of it!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Here’s a little reminder of the giveaway rules and today’s question:

Do you prefer a moonlit stroll in the country or on the beach?

What happens when…

Good Tuesday morning! Well the main tax season is almost over and I’ll be back to my regular blogging schedule. But this week will be majorly busy for me. I’ve been fitting in a little writing here and there, but not enough for my sanity. So here’s today’s thought for the day, What happens when…

What happens when you want to write but you don’t have your computer handy, well you pick up a pen and paper. I started a new manuscript the other night and was too tired to get up and grab my laptop, so I picked up my handy spiral bound notebook and started writing. It felt amazing to put pen to paper again. Of course I know those pages upon pages of handwritten words will have to be put in the laptop, but for now I’m content do it the old fashioned way.

What happens when you have a deadline for one book but have to start another one so the characters will let you sleep. Yep I started a new historical romance two days ago and yes I know Oakley is due out really soon! Sometimes you have to just give in to the loudest voices in your head.

What happens when figure out toward the end of the book that you accidentally renamed a character midway of the book. Yep, guilty as charged. Well, you can either stay with the new name and go back to make changes or you can search all the wrong name entries and correct. But I’m sure glad I’m now using Scrivener so that I have a character list, especially for those that don’t appear many times.

So what do you do when this happens to you?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Problem? No, just a writer…

Have you ever been caught staring at someone? Come on, you know you have. I’m a people watcher. It’s part of being a writer. I’ve been sitting in a crowded room before and noticed someone doing something out of sync with everyone else. Of course then my overactive imagination stitches a story regarding why they’re acting different.

I’ve actually written stories based on people watching. It’s really fun to sit back and watch a couple in love. You wonder what their story is and then you piece it together with your own spin. Maybe they met by chance or have been friends for years and turned the tables. What’s really fun is you don’t know their true story, but your imagination can expand on what the eye sees. If they’re holding hands and giving those cute lovey looks, you can expand on the romance side of the story. Maybe they’re newlyweds or just newly dating. It’s up to your imagination.

I love to watch people in love. Guess that’s why I love weddings. A wedding can fill many pages of your mind. Most of the time I know the person getting married, but I’ve attended weddings where I’m not too familiar with the couple. I can sit and imagine their love story, the engagement and the romance. It’s fascinating really.

So yes, I have a problem, but it’s for a good cause 😉

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…