Writing Goals for the New Year

Goals… Do you set goals? Do you have a word count that you try to meet everyday? Do you try to put out a couple of books a year? Well for me I try to work everyday on my manuscripts. Sometimes life steps in and I get side stepped, but I plan to make up for lost time this weekend.

For me goals are important. If you don’t have something to strive for then what’s the point. I have set goals on my book releases and also my accounting business. Life is going to be getting very busy in January. If you haven’t read my bio, I am an Accountant and that means tax time is right around the corner. What’s funny is the last two years when I would get the busiest in my office, the characters would get restless and I’d actually have higher word count outputs. Weird but true.

I had an accounting colleague ask me last year how on earth I wrote during tax season. Well it’s really easy when you need something to decompress with at night. I usually work really long hours from January through April, but when I do get to sit down and focus, I can just spit it out like a rushing river in a flood. Amazingly enough I actually have my daily schedule set up this year for writing to be intertwined with accounting work. That way I can decompress during the day too.

I have several goals set for the new year. I want to get my 2nd books in the Lean On Him series, Alpine Romance Series, The Winner Series and The Women of Magnolia Hill Saga out and going as soon as possible. I laughed as I worked on my goals for 2014 and realized I had several series going along with some stand alones. Funny how writers can have several dramas going on at one time.

So, what are your writing goals? What are your expectations for 2014? Do you have a plan?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Christmas Eve :)

Good chilly morning to all… I do hope everyone is ready for Christmas. I’ve still got some baking to finish and payroll to complete, but the gifts are bought and wrapped. Well all but one and I tripped over it this morning in the bedroom, LOL. I’ll wrap it when I get back from delivering payroll.

‘Tis the season to be jolly and why is it that most people this year are not jolly? My son and hubby are not in the Christmas spirit. It’s driving my insane. I’m going around singing Christmas carols and decorating everything that’s not standing still. They just sit and look at me like I’ve lost what’s left of my brain. Well, maybe I have, but it all went into my books.

Last night I was thinking of spending it finishing up the latest manuscript that’s captured my little brain and then it hit me. “I’ve got to put some Christmas spirit in these men of mine.” So I whipped out “Frosty The Snowman” and “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” and told them to sit down and enjoy. Of course I giggled like a school girl and they just sat there and made fun of Rudolph’s red nose. Oh well, I tried.

Speaking of manuscripts, I’m hoping to spend some time off from accounting this week and finish up “Finding The Right Time”. It’s been taking over my brain this week. While I was up and down last night with my pulled back muscle I played with the idea of pulling out my laptop and just working through the night, but my back told me otherwise 😦

So here’s hoping you all have a wonderfully Merry Christmas Eve and hope Santa is very good to you. Remember to smile at someone you don’t normally smile at, hug your loved ones and sing carols even if they’re out of tune. Put the Christmas spirit in your whole day and enjoy the season of joy. Don’t forget the reason for the season as you celebrate with family and friends. Tell Jesus Happy Birthday!

As always good writing and May God Bless You…

Romancing the real world…

In this world of tech savvy readers and writers it’s hard sometimes to gain the interest of fans. With so many wonderful romance writers the competition is large and wide. But the wonderful thing is that as a writer we get to write our own niche. We get to change the world of writing because if you are your own person then that’s your niche.

I’ve talked to many fans that say you’ve got to be different to stand out. Well, maybe your writing is different. Some publishers say go with what’s popular, but what you really need to do is stand out in the crowd. If you want to write about cowboys and everyone else is writing about vampires then go for it. Make your voice heard loud and clear. Give it your whole heart.

As for me I write mostly about cowboys and horses. That’s my niche and my fans follow that niche, thank goodness. I’ve got a couple of books that don’t include cowboys, but only a couple. Cowboys are what’s comfortable for me and inspire me, so with me you know what you’re getting. But I do try to go a little different in the angles of my stories.

Take for instance my newest Christmas book, Open The Heart. It has a handsome cowboy, horses and romance, but it’s based in snowy Switzerland on the side of a mountain in the Alps. That’s a niche in its self. So carve out your niche and make it spectacular. Give it your whole heart, not someone elses. Write about what you love and it will show.

Today’s reader is complex and they’re looking for that special romance that will warm their heart and in some instances curl their toes. Some readers want hot, steamy sex scenes, but others just want that warm fuzzy feeling you get from a real world romance. That’s what I try to carry on to my readers. A romance that could actually happen. Something real and reachable. Try it and you’ll be rewarded with smiles.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Picking the right cover photo

I know I’ve harped on this before but I can’t stress enough the importance of a great cover. I was looking at some of the new books on Amazon and to tell you the truth a couple of the covers were non imaginative. They were just bland and didn’t exactly go with the book description. But of course there were some that I was just stunned at the creativity and dare I say ‘beauty’.

Your book cover is the first thing potential readers see. If you go the extra mile it will help you tremendously. Like right now I’m scanning photos for my newest work in progress. I have in my mind what I want and it has to be perfect. I’ve looked at thousands of photos and let me tell you, it’s a lot of work, but the payoff makes it worth it.

If your cover doesn’t fit the book, why even go there. If you write a Christmas romance and put a Easter bunny on it, well you get the picture. Don’t give away too much with your cover either. This means don’t put a picture of the ending on the cover. If all the way through the book you keep the reader in the dark about if the couple is going to marry or get pregnant, you might not want to put them in a wedding dress or looking pregnant. But then again that could increase sales. Sometimes it’s a catch 22, you just have to know how to make it work.

Also, one last thing that’s a huge, big piece of advice. For next to nothing you can purchase a picture from a reputable site and make it really pop. Don’t just pull something from the family photos and make it work, unless it really goes with the book. I use several sites, but my favs are bigstockphoto.com and istockphoto.com. There are several, but these are the two I use.

As always, good writing and may God Bless You…

By the way, don’t forget that my publishing service designs great covers. Check out the tab above for Horseshoe Publishing…

Monday morning ramblings…

Well it was a busy weekend for me. Our Church put together showboxes for the local Family Children Service and then yesterday I had the Children’s Ministry Christmas party. Which this meant that I had to start my Christmas baking. I baked cookies, made rice krispy treats and smores. Not to mention red velvet and cream cheese bites. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.

As I sat yesterday afternoon just enjoying being with my family and having nothing at all to do, I received a call. It was my cousin calling to tell me a friend of ours has cancer. It was hard to hear. I’ve known him all my life and we’ve always been friends. It’s always hard to hear that word ‘cancer’. I prayed for him and knew he was in good hands.

My writing has been in the forefront of my mind lately. I have a couple of books in the works and am impatient to get them completed. I guess that’s just the life of a writer. I have to keep my focus on the writing instead of the finish. If I focus on the finish too much my writing will lack some of it’s luster. I don’t want to rush through the last couple of chapters.

I don’t know how one of the books will end exactly. Most of my books I have them mapped out in my mind and usually have a good idea how they’ll end, but this one book has changed as it has unfolded. As each chapter develops and the characters get their chance at the story it’s changed and evolved. I’m happy with the many changes, but am anxious to see it to the end.

Several fans are chomping at the bit for the 2nd book in the Alpine series. It was such an exciting book to write. I can’t wait to get started on it. All of my books are on sale for .99 until December 26th. I want to do this as a thanks to all my devoted and beloved fans. It’s been an awesome year for me and my writing.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

45 years of Blessings…

Many people try to ignore birthdays. For me I’m so blessed with each year I’m given. The fact that I got up this morning is a blessing in itself. I have so much to be thankful for.

This morning I woke to my wonderful husband and son wishing me a Happy Birthday. Then when I opened my computer my email was blowing up with Birthday wishes from family, friends and fans. It’s amazing the support I’ve received from my family, friends and my adoring fans.

The Birthday wishes have been coming in from all over and it’s such a blessing. My writing has been a blessing and to be able to publish my long, hard work. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a teenager and guess what, I’m a published author. This blessing has gained me so many new friends and I’ve met some great authors that I’ve been reading for years. It’s been such an awesome time.

So many don’t realize their blessings. They leave them in a closet somewhere and refuse to acknowledge them. Blessings are meant to be acknowledged, appreciated and thankful for. But most of all they are meant to be passed on to others. It’s like the Christmas Spirit should be kept in your heart 365 days a year. Celebrate life daily and be glad for every minute in our short lives. That’s why all my books are .99 through Christmas. I want to give something back to my readers.

Have a wonderful day and know I’m passing on my blessings and well wishes for you all.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Have you got a character you don’t like?

When you’re a writer you get the chance to meet many characters through your books. Sometimes the characters leave a lasting memory on you. I’ve fell in love with many of my characters. Wes in “Moonbeam and Roses”, Jared in “Ghost Lover, and Drake in “Open the Heart” just to name a couple of them. It’s amazing the way characters in your writing get in your heart.

But then there are the characters that you love to hate. Those are the characters fans tell you they don’t like which is exactly the point to their bad ways. Take for instance Thomas in “Ghost Lover”. He’s a real snake in the grass. He’s handsome and tries to make everyone including Jess think he’s a wonderful man. But his true colors start to show when Jared comes into the picture to still Jess’s heart. He does everything including attempted murder to get her to love him.

Oh, then there’s Ty in “A Love Never Lost”. He uses his wealth and horse ranch to woo Lilly. But he is obsessed, not in love. He resorts to kidnapping to try to get what he wants. That’s just not nice at all.

Then you have Brent in “Open The Heart”. He leaves Lacey at the altar and then tries to guilt her back. But he soon finds out that true love wins in the end.

Here are three traits that make a bad character:

1: Jealousy – It gets them everytime. Jealousy can cause a character to take drastic measures and make bad decisions.

2: Obsession – Sometimes an obsessed character can do some nasty things to get what they want and usually their wants are not the same wants as the one they’re obsessed about.

3: Evil – Now evil can really make a bad character. They will stop at nothing, even murder to get what they want.

Sometimes the bad characters have fans too. It’s amazing how some people only remember the bad characters in a book. Some of my fans write to me and ask how some of these nasty characters were started. Were they based on people I know? But usually the good ones are based on people I know, not the bad ones.

So as you write your characters, try to put in a couple of bad ones. It makes for an interesting read and can enhance a romance as they try to break it up. Some bad characters can even turn good. Wouldn’t that make a good twist?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Here’s some links to the books that have some nasty characters:

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Never-Lost-Stephanie-Hurt-ebook/dp/B009IQ0LQ0

http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Lover-Stephanie-Hurt-ebook/dp/B00COQZI5K

http://www.amazon.com/Open-Heart-Alpine-Christmas-Romance-ebook/dp/B00GW6T6AQ

The day after the feast…

The day after the feast and I sit here feeling like I’m still full. I don’t even think I can eat breakfast. Although I will make room for a cup of coffee. I always have room for that. It’s crazy the feeling I have on the day after Thanksgiving. The excitement of the Christmas season is stirring around in my mind. I feel the decorating bug coming on heavily and know that by the end of the day my house will look like as my hubby would say “Christmas threw up all over the place”.

I’m not a shopper like most on black Friday. Going out into the wilds of shopper frenzy is not the least enticing to me. Now cyber Monday is my day to shop. I can sit in my living room and shop til my fingers cramp. No hassles, no crowds, no fighting over the last sale item, just me and my laptop.

Now that the Christmas book is finished and the other books are in the works I feel a little better. But the stories dance in my head like sugar plums. I’m trying to finish the works I’ve got started, but the stories keep popping in and taking over. So as I sit here and enjoy a long leisurely morning of movies, coffee and Christmas decorations my mind is whirling with stories and covers and other bookish things.

Why is it a writer never takes a vacation or holiday? Since my accounting office is closed until Monday I don’t have figures dancing in my head, but the writer in me stays awake at night with thoughts and ideas. I watch movies and ideas pop in my head, I listen to music and ideas pop into my head, I see a picture and ideas pop into my head. yeah I’ve got it bad.

Someone asked me one day, ‘Don’t you ever run out of things to write?’ Well, sometimes I have writer’s block on a certain story line. That’s when I move on to the other work in progress and eventually I move back the one that was blocked for a little time. As a writer your mind is usually on overdrive. Crazy how it works.

The only bad thing about the stories whirling in your brain is the times you want them to stop they usually speed up. As I slipped into bed last night I thought I was sleepy, but as soon as my head hit the pillow I knew it was useless. I lay on one side and then the other, fighting with sleep, try desperately to win. Finally I sat up realizing it was futile. I grabbed my Kindle and headed to sit by the fire in the den. I needed to clear my head so I read for three hours, yeah three hours. When I looked up at the clock I was glad that I didn’t have to go into the office the next morning.

As I sit here this morning watching Sabrina and enjoying my coffee the stories are pushing past this post, wanting to escape. I know what all needs to be done to get ready to decorate, but the writer in me wants to just sit here all day with Christmas movies in the background and my laptop in my lap. Oh I love this life.

But alas, I do need to make my house look festive as this is my favorite time of year. So buckle yourself up and get ready for the ride because from now until Christmas I’ll be in high gear. Let’s get our Christmas on…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

New Release and the holidays…

My new Christmas book is up and running. This has been a joy to work on. As you all know I love the Christmas season and adding cowboys and Switzerland which is on my bucket list just adds to it. I’ve been researching Switzerland for many, many years and to get to use some of that in this book has been awesome.

What’s funny is this was supposed to be a stand alone book, but this writer’s heart just couldn’t stop it at that. It’s going to be a whole series on romance in the Alps. I’m really excited about this series as it explores the country I’d love to visit. Since I will probably never visit this beloved country, I’ll live it through fiction.

I do hope everyone is enjoying this week of Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to thank those you love and those you need to love for the many things they do. I hope those that don’t have romance can find romance. It’s wonderful! Everyone needs it in their lives.

Here’s an excerpt from Open The Heart – Alpine Christmas Romance:

When she emerged from the bathroom thirty minutes later totally refreshed, she saw lying on the bed a Christmas ball. She giggled. Where had he found a Christmas ornament?

She opened her bedroom door and found bright red tinsel stretched all the way to the stairs. She picked it up and rolled it up as she walked. She glanced over the balcony and found him elbow dip in a huge box of Christmas decorations. She let out a laugh that echoed across the high ceilings.

The look in his eyes when he looked up was like a young boy waiting on Santa. She joined him on the floor by the fire. “I thought you didn’t celebrate Christmas.”

“I said I hadn’t celebrated in a while, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have decorations. These were some my mom had given me the year before…” He trailed off. Then he cleared his throat and turned toward her. “I’ve loved Christmas all my life. I just stepped away from it for a while.”

She grinned and looked in the box. They had everything to decorate the house and a tree. “Do you have a tree?”

He laughed and stood up, grabbing her hand. He pulled her to her feet. “That’s a funny question. We have a whole mountain of Christmas trees. I have one of the horses saddled and a cart attached just outside the door. The snow is falling lighter right now, so we’re going hunting.”

She giggled in excitement. It had been years since she’d been out in the woods hunting a tree. “Do you have an axe?” She gave him her most serious expression.

“Oh, you’re funny. Don’t you think I’d think of that first?” He hugged her and pulled her hat up and tied it under her chin. “Let’s go get a tree before the next storm hits.”

This is just a snippet of the fun these two have in their snow filled Alpine Christmas adventure.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Here’s the 2 links already up and running:

http://www.amazon.com/Open-Heart-Alpine-Christmas-Romance-ebook/dp/B00GW6T6AQ

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/381389

Exploring your heart…

I’m a hopeless romantic and if you haven’t gotten that through my blogs where have you been? In my writing I express the romance and love that’s in my heart. I hurt when my characters hurt and laugh when they laugh, of course my son thinks I’ve lost my mind much of the time. I’ll just laugh out as I’m writing. He just looks at me and shakes his head. Oh well, I have to be a little crazy to be an artist, right.

Since I’ve been working on my Christmas romance I’ve experienced many feelings. I’ve been angry, happy, sad, mournful, cold, and then excited. This book runs the whole lot of feelings. I’ve tried to carry my reader into a new world. Hopefully one that they will want to explore further with the second book. Whoops did I just give away a secret? Yes I did. Well the cats out of the bag, There will be a book two for The Alpine Romance. It’s funny how it just hits you when something needs to be carried to another plateau.

I’ve also been working on finishing book two in the “Lean On Him” Christian series. This one has to be visited in spurts. The book has taken a toll on me emotionally. A couple of months ago I put an excerpt on Avon Romance submission pages and a kind lady came in to tell me how emotional that scene made her. It brought a smile to my face. My editor read the first chapter and when she turned to me she had tears in her eyes. Yep, it’s going to be a emotional romance. I just hope it inspires my readers to find romance and hold on to it, because you never know when it will slip away. Sometimes we lose the love of our life, but there’s always the chance to find love again, you just have to open your heart.

So to me, writing romance explores your own heart. Can you write romance if you don’t believe in it? I really don’t think so. I think you have to believe with all your heart that romance is real and that love can be found in the oddest places. Every book I’ve written has taken a different angle of love. Maybe it’s the love lost, then found again, or new love found, but held away by force. Whatever the way, the love always shines through. That’s what makes romance one of the top genres right now. We all need something to hope for, to wish for, and to know it exists if only in fiction.

My challenge to you is this. Explore your heart to find the part of it that expresses how you feel. Pull on it until you’re just drained and then you’re ready to pour it out in fiction. Some days when I close my laptop I’m exhausted, but content. I’ve explored the many emotions of my characters and made it through. That’s what draws in the reader, the pull of your heart to theirs.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…