Tag: Romance

Interview with F. J. Thomas, Author

Good Saturday morning. This morning I have a guest author interview. I met F. J. Thomas several months ago through social media. She’s a southern girl like me and also has a tremendous love for horses as I do. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know her a little better. So here goes:
 
 
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1: Give us a bio on you, tell us what makes you, you…
 
I work full time in the healthcare industry and live on with my husband on my horse farm in East Tennessee. When I’m not working to pay the feed bill or writing, I’m judging horse shows, giving riding lessons, or competing in anything from barrel racing and cattle sorting to hunter and halter. Horses have always been a huge part of my life and honestly I think that’s a big factor in what makes me who I am. They have taught me to never quit.
2: When did you start writing and why?
I started out writing poetry for a competition in high school and actually placed well in a State Competition. It just kind of blossomed from there. In my late twenties I started writing horse articles and started a couple of books. With age comes discipline and it took me ten years to actually finish a book!
3: Tell us about “Lost Betrayal”. What inspired it?
In a nutshell, Lost Betrayal is about a gal who loses her horse in a tornado and the journey that brings them back together. It’s a big story that has drama, suspense, and romance. The inspiration for Lost Betrayal came from watching severe flooding during Hurricane Floyd on the North Carolina coast several years back. I became indirectly involved in some rescue efforts and that’s when I learned that large animals are the last to be rescued in a disaster and they receive the least publicity about their needs. It’s not uncommon for animals to be missing weeks or months on end and that gave me the idea for the story. I’m hoping that Lost Betrayal becomes a vehicle of awareness to the plight of large animal rescue efforts.
4: Who is your favorite character and why?
That’s a hard one! The heroine, Sage is a strong character that never gives up no matter how bad it hurts. That’s admirable in itself. What’s not to love about Garrett who is not only a real cowboy but has the heart of a gentleman and is good looking to boot? There’s a lot of interesting characters in this book that are partly based on real life so it’s hard to pick just one!
5: Have you got another book in the works? If so tell us a little about it.
I always have several projects in the works, mainly because my mind is always working over time! I just started a new novella, Lost Doesn’t Exist, that’s about a writer that’s lost all hope. I’m hoping to have it finished in a couple of months. I’ve also started another western romance with a paranormal element that the basis for the story actually comes from the New Testement. It’s turning into quite the book!  
6: Where’s your favorite place to write?
In my sunroom on the back of my house. It’s a magical place to write because it’s just a few feet from my back pasture and also over looking our woods so I get to hear and watch the horses and all the critters while I write. It’s a dream come true!
7: Some authors have music playlists, do you and if so, what are some of the songs?
I love all kinds of music from country and bluegrass to hip hop and classical. But when it comes to writing I love to listen to songs that break my heart or speak on a much deeper level because I think it brings out deeper feelings for my writing. I love listening to the Steel Drivers for that reason. Their music speaks to me on a totally different level and I just love it!
 
 
 
Then here’s the link to my author blog – 
 
 
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Talking In The Barn

Talking to authors, artists, competitors.
  
Preview by Yahoo
 
 
 
My horse blog – 
 
 
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MUSINGS FROM THE LEADROPE

Daily life on Fairweather Farm as we try to work full time, work part time in the horse industry and get a little writing in!
  
Preview by Yahoo
 
 
 
Frances J. Filson-Thomas
Published Author, Horse Show Judge, Riding Instructor
Fairweather Farm – Sweetwater, TN 
www.fairweatherfarmtn.com
http://fjthomasblog.wordpress.com/
http://qheventer.wordpress.com
 
Go by and check out her book. I know you’ll love it.
As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Let’s do a throwback Thursday…

Today I’m getting ready to celebrate the two year mark of publishing my first novel, “Ghost Lover”. That one book challenged me in so many ways. I wrote this book several months before I published it in May 2012, but I struggled with putting it out to the public. My editor and cover designer, Kaleigh, found the manuscript and loved it. She went about working on a cover and getting the information to publish this book on Amazon. I was thrilled, scared, excited, nervous and the list goes on regarding how I felt about putting my work out to the public. 

Then one day there it was. It was on Amazon and I was a published author. But a funny thing happened. Readers fell in love with Jess and Jared’s love story. This book was a game changer for me. It catapulted me into a writing frenzy. This book still sells today and I’ve had several calls and emails about this book. 

But I do have some surprises coming in the near future concerning some of my first published books. As any writer will tell you, as you write every book you learn many things. You learn different techniques in writing and ways to make characters more vibrant. I’m working on some revisions to some of my first books. I might even do a couple of cover changes. So, as the weeks go on I’ll be announcing some new releases and old made new releases.

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

Easter Celebration Book Sale!

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Good Morning Everyone! Happy Good Friday and Happy Easter early… As you can see from the picture above, I’m having a Easter Sale of all my books on Amazon. Even the 3 book and 2 book sets are only $1 each. Of course I have to correct my Amazon pages because it only shows $1.99. I think I was half asleep when I changed the settings.

I hope everyone has a restful, fun, exciting Easter weekend. Remember to celebrate the Ressurection on Sunday and spend some time with your family. Hopefully all the kiddies will have sunny weather for the many Easter egg hunts this weekend. 

As always, Good Writing and May God Bless You…

Strong Characters

Good tax day morning… Let’s just say if you haven’t filed yet, you don’t have long. I’m counting down the hours until midnight. 

Now on to the post of the day. How would you rate your characters? Do you have weak ones, strong ones, or maybe those that start out weak and become strong? Well that’s the question of the day. Which characters do you consider strong?

When I get my character list together, I try to have at least one character that’s strong. Maybe they’re able to deal with any crisis or even help others deal with crisis. In my writing I try to make the strong characters inspiring. I want readers to be inspired by the strength in some of my characters. 

In Faith Through The Tears, Randy has to lean on his faith to keep strong for his two daughters. He fights with the weakness of his emotions when he loses the love of his life. But inevitably his strength pulls him together. He’s human and his strength waivers, but he does find his strength through the immense faith he has.

In Victoria, she’s the one that struggles to hold things together. Even with the Civil War all around them she keeps up her strength. But even the strongest character has weak moments. 

Then you have Lily, the main character in A Love Never Lost. She’s independent and strong willed. She knows what she wants and goes for it, even when her heart wants her to stay with Zane. Eventually her strength is tested, but she holds it together.

I love to read a romance with a strong character. It always inspires me to be stronger than I am. Do you have a character that’s strong? 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What’s in a review?

I’ve blogged about reviews before and each time I get a lot of response from fellow authors. Reviews can do a lot for an author. They can cause readers to flock to your book, run away from your book or make them unsure. I’ve been reading several posts from fellow authors regarding the trend in reviews and in some ways its not good.

As I’ve said before, if you’re thinking about reviewing a book, please read the book first. It’s so evident to an author when a reviewer hasn’t even read the book.

Let’s take a look at some of the things fellow authors have told me about some of their reviews that either made them laugh, cry or smile. Some may have caused all of these emotions.

1: I really enjoyed this book but I’m giving it a 2 star because I didn’t like the characters name. (This author was shocked when she saw this review. What’s funny is, even though it’s a 2 star review, which should be bad for the sales, the reviewer told readers it’s a good book.)

2: This book is horrible. Why did it have to be so unrealistic? People just can’t do this in real life. (Ok, this one made me laugh out loud. The book being reviewed was a Paranormal book about mythical creatures. I do give the reviewer credit, people really can’t do what the characters did in this book because they aren’t real. This author’s book sales actually escalated after this review.)

3: Why? Please stop this. I didn’t like this book at all. (This reviewer went on to email the author directly and tell her to stop writing. The author smiled as she was telling me about this review because she actually has hit the bestseller list in several countries with the very book this reviewer slammed. Her response was “It takes all kinds to make up the world”. By the way, this book is free and the reviewer did not pay for it to begin with.)

4: Great book. I can’t wait for more from this author. Waiting impatiently for next installment. (This author was thrilled with this review. It was her first book and she was afraid it wouldn’t do well.)

5: I loved the book, but could have been a little more descriptive. The writing was good and the character development was well received. (This was a constructive review that was helpful to the author. She said that actually she went back and edited a couple of areas of the book to correct these issues.)

This was just 5 of the responses I received after my last post on reviews. We rely on reviewers to be honest about their reviews of our work. The sad thing is many people out there are not very nice when they review a book. They strive to make the author look bad. What’s really sad is that a post I read a couple of months ago, several authors were slammed repeatedly on Amazon and the reviewers were not verified purchases. The wording went along the same line and did not mention anything from the book. The reviewer was slamming the author themselves. It’s sad but true.

My advice to new authors or even veteran authors that haven’t developed a thick skin is this. Use the reviews wisely. If the review is structured and they explain the flaws they see, then maybe check the flaws out. It could help. But if they’re nasty and scathing, just let them roll off your back. It’s hard, but as a published writer, you’ve opened yourself up to the public and sometimes they aren’t very nice. 

So, tell me your experiences with reviews. How do you react? Just remember, smile you’re a published author.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

 

 

 

The Winner Takes All

One of my earlier books was “The Winner Is Love”. It was my first Christmas Romance published. I got into this book way deeper than I thought I would. Funny thing is, it started out as a stand alone, but a I neared the end, I just knew it couldn’t stop there. The story needed to go on and some of the leading characters needed to have a voice too. Did I just give away something? Oh well.

The 2nd book is “The Winner Takes All”. It continues the love story of Stacy and Slade. But this one takes an interesting twist that will make you wonder up until the ending. I’m really excited about the turns this story is taking. This is one reason this book has been a long time coming. 

When you have a story pop into your head you never know how many turns it might take before publication. This story was so obvious in my mind, but guess what, the characters decided to take over and make it their own. If you’re not a writer you probably think that last statement was a little nutsy, but as a writer you’d know exactly where I’m headed with it. Characters have a tendancy to want to speak up and tell their story too. 

Let’s just say, I’m hoping the many fans I gained with the first installment will follow with this one. Many of my devoted Cowboy Romance fans were surprised that no cowboys showed up during this series. Believe me when I say it’s hard not to put a cowboy, ranch or horse in my work. This book has a different feel from my normal writing. Check out book one before book two comes out.

It’s looking like it will be a May release. The first book is available in several formats including ebook, paperback and audiobook. By the way it’s my bestselling audiobook to date. My audiobooks have been such a refreshing surprise. 

Here’s a little unedited sneek peek of “The Winner Is Love”:

This had to be the most romantic proposal ever. He’d really outdone himself. She was still in awe of everything he’d done.

Then all of a sudden the door burst open and Andrew came in with the crew. “Great, are you two ready for this?” He asked as he came around to where they were standing in front of the tree.

“Let’s get this over with Andrew.” Slade walked over and put a log on the fire.

Suddenly the floor seemed to fall out from under Stacy. Wait a minute, was this done for publicity? Did he ask her to marry him just to get a story? She turned to look at Slade. He was suddenly being aloof.

Andrew came over and reached out for her hand. “Now that’s a beautiful ring. Congratulations by the way.” He then walked over and shook Slade’s hand. “Great job man.”

Slade smiled and winked at her. “Well when I see something I want I go after it.”

Her mouth dropped open and all she could do was stare at them. “Was this whole thing a publicity stunt for you two?”

Slade paled and walked quickly over to her. He put his hand on her arm and pulled her away from the crew. “No Stacy. I meant every word.” He could see she was getting upset. “I told Andrew to keep the crew away until after I proposed. I thought that part should be just us and not the whole world.”

Her heart told her he was being truthful, but something wasn’t right. She turned back and saw Andrew waiting for them. “Let me guess, we’re on a time schedule.”

Andrew walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. “Stacy, I know how this must look, but Slade’s telling you the truth.”

She turned to Slade. “I’m sorry. It just threw me when the crew came in.”

They took their places in front of the tree. The news anchor came in to do the interview. It went fairly fast. When it was over everyone started packing up the equipment. She sat down on the hearth and stared into the fire. Her heart was racing. Everything was happening really fast.

Slade walked over and sat down beside her. He knew she was not used to this kind of life. He put his arms around her and kissed her shoulder. “What’s on that beautiful mind of yours?”

“I was just thinking how fast everything is going with us. We’ve only known each other for a little over a month.” She looked up from the fire and met his blue eyes. He was devastatingly handsome. She was a lucky woman. Two months ago she would never have imagined that she’d be engaged to Slade Collins.

When the crew left they all said their congratulations and shut the door. Andrew turned to them and grinned. “Ok, we’re leaving you two alone. Have a great Christmas Eve?”

I will be posting a sneek peek of the cover really soon. By the way it’s already in the works and almost complete. I love it and it really  makes a statement. I do hope you guys have a wonderful Friday.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S.: Here’s a couple of links to “The Winner Is Love”

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-winner-is-love-stephanie-payne-hurt/1113881708

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260085

http://www.amazon.com/Winner-Love-Stephanie-Payne-Hurt/dp/1481133772  (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Winner-Is-Love/dp/B00EECEEWK  (Audiobook)

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-winner-is-love

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-winner-is-love/id585945263?mt=11

Free to the best home…

No, I’m not giving away puppies. I’m talking about book pricing today. When I started publishing it was one of those many decisions that I had to make. You’d think that would be easy, but let me tell you this, it’s not. Other writers talk about the ‘sweet spot’ and then others tell about making the first book in all their series free. Well here goes some things I’ve found out during my publishing process. 

By the way, this is not in anyway a rant, but the things I’ve figured out through my writing.

1: Do your homework? By this I mean go on a book site and check other books in your genre. Check the pricing of those that are the same length and same genre. Let me also remind you, those on bestseller lists can price a little higher and sell, if you’re not on the bestseller list you might want to aim your pricing arrow slightly lower, but don’t undersell yourself.

2: Beware of the freebie backlash. You might be wondering what I mean. Well as soon as you start offering your book for free you open up yourself to the ‘freebie reviewers’. For some reason as soon as your book goes free, the slashing starts. I’ve actually looked at several bestselling authors that put up some free books and they see the same kind of reviews after offering their books for free. This doesn’t mean don’t put them up for free, I’m just warning you first. Offering your first in a series is a great way to drive readers to your others in the series. Also offering other stand alones free for a time is a great promotional advantage.

3: The Even amount myth. I read an article about this over a year ago. The author said that everytime they post a even number price such as $1, $2, or even $3 their sells went down, but if they added .99 to said price sells went back up. Not sure why, but I’ve tried it and it does seem to work. Odd but true.

4: Don’t undersell yourself. I did this for so long, but have finally decided to stop doing it. Yes the numbers can be good when you sell your book for .99, but think about this, you may sell several at the lower price, but bump it up a couple of dollars and even though you may sell less, you will still see a higher profit. You’re worth it so go ahead and try it out.

5: Look at the length of your book. If you price your 5000 word book at 5.99, more than likely you’re not going to sell it. As I said in number 1, do your homework. Don’t over price your shorter books.

This is just some of the observations that I’ve made. You can try it or not, it’s entirely up to you. Just keep writing and put more out there.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Monday is Release Day!

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This is the full book cover for Finding The Right Time. The official release is Monday. The Preorder is up until Sunday night. It is only .99 until the official release. 

For an author release day is huge. As a reader it can be huge also. If you’re a fan of someone and they release a new book you usually get really excited. I know I do. If you’ve preordered the book, then guess what you have on release day, you have the book on your device and ready to read. 

Release day can be riddled with excessive promotional posts (Yep, get ready because Monday it will hit) and then you have the excitement of seeing how well the preorder did. 

Well here’s a little bit about the book. It’s a step away from my normal writing, but it was so exciting to write. This book is a Time Travel Romance, which makes it a fantasy lived out in a fictional book. Who hasn’t wanted to go back in time to redo something or undo something? 

One of my favorite quotes in the book is:

He bowed his head and shook it from side to side. “I don’t understand how a man that’s been dead for over one hundred years can just take over your heart. How can you even think about going back to him? If you love me, how can you love him too?”

To me this is a pivotal part of the book. It’s an example of the emotions that are challenged in this book. Since I love romance, this book has such a strong pull to it. It shows that through everything, true love shines through. We’re all given a chance to love, it’s how we treat that love and nourish that love that makes the difference. If you don’t meet it halfway and give it a chance, how will you ever know where it could go. Sometimes we have to follow our instincts and most definitely our dreams. 

This book was a long work in progress. I worked on this one for well over six months which is longer than my normal work time. It really pulled at me emotionally and kept me on my toes. When you step a little away from your normal genre a bit, it challenges you. I love a good challenge.

Here’s the preorder links available until Sunday night at midnight:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/413534

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-the-right-time-stephanie-hurt/1118861344?ean=2940045730792

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/finding-the-right-time/id830991170?mt=11

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday, Friday, Friday…

Good Friday morning… Well, it’s here folks. It’s finally Friday and it’s gearing up to be a gorgeous day here in Georgia. I feel like it’s been Winter forever. The sun is happily streaming through my windows this morning. As I sip my 2nd cup of coffee, I smile. It’s nice to see sunshine for a change. It’s actually supposed to feel like Spring today.

Friday’s are exciting. It’s the last day of the work week for most and it’s date night for others. Since it’s tax season for me, Saturday is my end of the work week. Oh well, that’s life. Since life has been crazy my writing has been sporadic. As most of you know I have several books in the works, so this is hard for me. I don’t get home until late in the evening and by the time I sit down to relax, I can’t get my head to work on the latest manuscript. I usually just sit and stare at the screen. I did manage to get the outline finished for one of my works in progress, which is exciting. 

How’s your writing going? Are you in the middle of a deadline? Are you in a writing slump? What’s up? 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What’s behind the spike in Romance Novels?

Imagephoto credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/1353541386/”>Stewf</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>

What’s behind the spike in Romance Novels? Could it be the world we live in? Could it be that we need some type of hope? I don’t know about you, but I love to sit down with a great romance and just get lost in it, if only for a couple of hours. It makes you think about possibilities, takes you to another world and makes you laugh, cry and smile.

Romance novels have always been a draw, but it seems as though lately there’s more of a need for them. Several years ago if you said you were a romance author, people would just laugh and say ‘you can’t find anything substantial to do with your life.’ But it’s not that way now. When you say you’re a romance author people sit up and congratulate you. The romance genre has exploded in so many directions. You can find a romance that fits your every need, really every need…

Here’s to hoping the romance genre stays popular. By the way, don’t forget to wear green today, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You