Let’s face it, it’s inevitable!

Good Wednesday morning! I hope all is with you and yours. This morning as I sat fanning away yet another hot flash, my mind was whirling. A couple of months ago I mentioned that possibly a series devoted to the 40 plus heroine and hero might be on my horizon. Well now that the Five Oaks Ranch series is almost to a close, or will be by Christmas, I’m rethinking that thought.

Face it people, every second we’re aging. I know, you’re making a face at the screen right now, but it’s reality. Most romance novels are written about the younger heroines and heroes, but what about those older adults that want to find love. In today’s world many older people are looking for love, so why not put some romance into it. Hey, I’m nearing that halfway mark and I still love romance. Good thing since I’m a romance author 😉

The series, of course will be about romance, but with a little humor sprinkled in. Since I’m in the lovely throws of menopause I can so relate to the characters that are pushing their way to the front of my writer brain. Why not have a menopausal heroine or a hero going through a midlife crisis? I think it would make good romance material.

So, what are your thoughts?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

The Scoop on the Book Signing!

Good Monday morning everyone! I’ve had several inquiries regarding the book signing event I had on Saturday. It was really great and I’m still smiling. The turnout was humbling to say the least and seeing all the familiar and new faces was fun. I met some really wonderful people and was able to talk books non stop.

Since this was my first book signing on record I was a little nervous, but the minute I stepped into A Novel Experience Bookstore in my hometown, Zebulon, Georgia, well let’s just say the nerves flew out the window. The smell of the books that surrounded me made for a relaxing atmosphere.

I settled into my chair and went to work. A couple of times I actually forgot my name! It’s true… I talked about Ridge as though he was a real person instead of a fictional character that came from my head. Someone actually asked if he was a real person because I made him real in my conversation.

A fun fact about my book signing, I sat in the place where famed author John Green (Fault in the Stars) sat for one of his book signings. It was like sitting in the presence of royalty. Yep, he did an early book signing there. Feeling special…

The gracious bookstore owner is already talking another event for the release of Oakley which is coming in a couple of months. Oh my, a couple of months, that means I’d best get off this blog and get to work. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday and stay warm. It’s really cold here in Georgia and expecting some snow and ice in parts of the south. Burrrrr!!!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Go by Amazon and get your copy of Ridge… http://www.amazon.com/Ridge-Five-Oaks-Ranch-Book-ebook/dp/B00TFOPOFI

Monday morning…back to normal…probably not…

I’ll just say this morning it was hard to get up with an alarm clock. Since my son has been out on Christmas break for two weeks I definitely got spoiled. But after I’ve been up for a little while I’m getting back in the groove. Now back to a normal schedule which feels refreshing.

Things always look clearer after a holiday, well mostly… Today I’m working on goals and release dates for the year. My year will consist of four cowboys and a cowgirl. My new series ‘Five Oaks Ranch’ will start releasing February 14th and continue throughout the year, ending with Maggie’s story near Christmas. It’s refreshing to know where you’re headed and what you’re working on. Of course you know me, I’ll have other books sprinkled in, but this series will be my 2015 spotlight.

With the release of Ridge coming up really quickly, I’m waiting on the date to be announced for my upcoming book signing. That’s exciting in itself and to be premiering Ridge at the same time, well that’s just icing on the cake. My paperbacks will be installed on the store shelves at that time also, which makes me just giddy.

As for normalcy, well that’s not in the cards for me. I’m a writer and we’re just not normal. I mean think about it, we sit and write stories that flow through our head. A lot of these stories are gained from people watching. Nobody is safe around a writer.

So,what are your goals for 2015? Are you getting back to normal today, or have you decided to take one more day off?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Saturday morning writing…

Good morning all! It’s really cold here in Georgia. I’m sitting by the fire with my second cup of coffee and checking my posts. I love this time when I’ve got a little time to write posts, post on sites and work on my writing.

Today I’m working on Ridge, which is the first installment of the 5 Oaks Ranch series. I can’t help but smile as I write each part. As you know me well, I’ve got the outline completed and know basically where the story is headed. Some days I’m so excited that I go ahead of myself. No actually I do. If a certain part is calling out to me, I’ll create a separate word document and get it down. When I actually get to that part, just copy and paste. It helps keep the overcrowding of my brain from completely taking over.

Ridge is a special character to me. He’s got this rough edge that just makes him pure cowboy. The time he spent in Iraq during his two tours of duty have given him a edge that will cut the most unwilling intruder into his world. His only soft spot is his little sister Maggie. The smile she gives him makes some of the stone around his heart chisel away. But the fun part starts the minute he meets Mallory, the new ranch vet. Their sparring will keep you wondering where it’s headed. The fun part is how Ridge avoids things that are unavoidable. Can she break the ice that’s totally Ridge?

For the next couple of weeks I’ll be working on his story. If everything goes well you’ll be able to meet Ridge before New Year’s but let’s just see how it goes.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

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…

Series or finish in one?

When you’re writing the book and the story just keeps going and going, so you finish the story or do you make it into a series? Series can be a continuation of the same storyline with the same characters, they can be a continuation of characters that in the first book were in the background, or it can be just a continuation of the same type of story but entirely different story. What will it be?

For me a couple of my books have stood alone completely. I knew and felt good with ending them at the words The End. But some of my stories needed more. Some were supposed to be stand alone but the characters just pulled at me to be more. In my latest book, Open The Heart, I originally planned on it being alone. As I delved into the story around 3/4 of the way in I knew it had more to tell. You may be saying why not just go ahead and make it a mega novel with 50,000 or more words, but in some instances it’s good to just end on a cliff hanger, leaving the reader wanting more.

In Victoria I knew at the start that it would be a Saga. I knew as I was writing the first chapter how it would end and I built it up to that major cliff hanger which of course has garnered lots of readers writing to me stating that they were hanging on pins and needles. I just smile and know I did the right thing. It’s had several asking when the next book could be expected. What’s funny is they always ask what happens? I can’t tell you until the next book comes out is always my response.

So, what will you next book be? It’s sometimes a hard question. Does your story line have the stamina to carry on for several books? Does your general premise for the book have series quality? Well, let me know how you figure it out.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Day 27 of the Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour

Welcome to Day 27 of the Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. The question I put out to all of these authors was “What challenges do you face in writing romance in today’s society?”

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.

Today my guest author is and Camelia Miron Skiba want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about Camelia and her book Born In Vengence.

What Challenges do you face writing romance in today’s society?

CMS: You mean aside from people rolling their eyes at the word “romance”? Or confusing it with porn? Nothing really.

Joke aside, my biggest challenge is to create buzz for my books. I recently read an article stating that there were over 12,000,000 books released last year through Amazon. Talk about competition, right?

It’s well known that word of mouth is the best advertising but I’m by nature very shy so I constantly shot myself in the foot, unable to tell people what my books are about when asked face to face. I’m fine behind the computer, writing all those beautiful stories my characters share with me. But when it comes to say it out loud I paralyze for fear whatever I say won’t be good enough. I know I have about 10-12 seconds to catch that person’s attention and whatever words I chose they must be captivating and intriguing so that the person would want to know more about my books. It takes me months to write a story. How can I condense its essence in a few seconds?

Luckily with the today’s technology a lot of promotion is made online through personal blogs and social networking. I absolutely love to be in contact with my readers either through my blog www.authorcameliamironskiba.com, on Facebook, GoodReads, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc and all those sites offer easy and instant access. In my opinion we authors become more accessible because of those sites. Add a little bit of personal but professional touch and you’re on your way to success.

Bottom line there is nothing gained without effort. When challenged we appreciate it that much more. Writing is my passion; it’s what my soul and heart feed on, my escape from reality if you will. Combine that with romance, hot heroes and smart heroines, no challenge is big enough to stop me from doing what I love.

Biography

I’m a dreamer
I’m a sinner
I love my books
I conjure hooks
And heroes with good looks

Romance is my guilty pleasure
Taking me to places with new decor
Come join me if you dare
I promise not to bore

If you like to read my stories
Pray my husband continues snorin’
For he’s the one who keeps me up at night
When I give my heroes wings and flight.

Publication Date: May 9, 2013

Originally published as a short story titled I WAS HERE–BEFORE YOU CAME, this stand-alone version includes an expanded storyline and excerpts from BORN IN SIN (Dacian Legends, #2), all that you would expect from a full novel.

Legend has it … centuries after Spartacus another hero is born—Ilias, the bastard son of King Decebalus. Thirsty for revenge and eager to unshackle the Roman oppression, Ilias’ obsession to fulfill his oath has no bounds, even if that means kidnapping Nerva, the beloved daughter of Emperor Traianus. What he doesn’t know is his own heart threatens to betray his conscience.

Go on over and check out Camelia.

Here’s the link to Rosie’s side of the tour: http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-2zf

Writing the right ending…

What do you do when you get down to the last chapters? At this point you need to building up for the end, but how?

As I work on the ending of my newest book, I ponder this question. Just as my last novel, “The Winner Is Love” I wonder, is this the end? Well with that one it wasn’t. I didn’t know it when I started writing it. I had plan a simple, sweet Christmas romance that would end at the words The End. But guess what, as with any writer I had to listen to my characters and my heart told me their story is not done.

My newest book is the 2nd book in a series and I don’t know whether I want it to continue. But if I don’t continue it, how do I end it? Do the lovers ride off in the sunset never to be heard from again? Do I kill them off in a lovers quarrel? What am I saying? I can’t kill them off, that would be murder.

The ending of a book can be as important, or even more important than the beginning. I’ve read books before that the ending left me baffled. Some have left me angry and others ready for more. If you are planning a next book, you have to leave the reader wanting more. You have to give just enough information to keep them hooked for the next book. If you’re ending it there, you need to make the ending mean something. If you end the book wrong, will the reader want to read anything else from you.

I have to admit that I’ve read some books that the ending made me so upset that I didn’t have the heart to read the authors list of other books written. I just couldn’t do that to myself. You know how it is when you’re watching a movie and the main character that you’ve fell in love with dies in the last scene and bam, that’s it. Finished, the end, done! Makes you want to throw something at the TV. Books can make you want to throw your Kindle.

What do you like in an ending? Do you like the explosive ending, where you are just floored? Do you like the sweet, tender ending where you just melt and have to sit quietly for a moment and reflect? (Maybe that’s just me 😉 ) Or do you like the nail biter ending where you get left hanging on the edge of the cliff? Let me know your thoughts. I love to hear what everyone thinks.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you!