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…

Being whatever we want to be…

I’m a big kid, not just at Halloween as you can see, but in everyday life. My way of thinking is this, if we stay a child at heart how can you grow old. I know in numbers I’m almost 45, but in my heart I still get giddy at Halloween, Christmas and all the other holidays. My heart still pounds when I see buckets of candy. Well, that could be the chocolate rush, but it still beats harder with excitement.

Last night was our annual Church Trunk or Treat and it was a blast. We had so many children come through and they were very creative with their costumes. It was wonderful to see all my little Children’s Church peeps and the many guests dressed in their favorite theme or character. Of course being the Children’s Minister it’s only right that I go all out with my costume and my decorations. I included my sons pumpkin on the tailgate with balloons, posters and buckets over flowing with candy. The weather held up for our celebration.

As a writer you can be whatever you want to. You can be that character and feel that characters happiness, sadness, anger, love or whatever they feel. We are able to change the ending, making it what we want. Why wouldn’t anyone want to be a writer? Well for one thing it’s not as easy as it looks.

You have a story come into your mind. At first you think, this is going to be easy. You may sit down and write the story in your head and then realize it only lasted 5 pages. As a writer you have to expand that story. The descriptions have to be expanded to allow the reader to be drawn in. Remember the story you hear in your head is real to you, but the reader doesn’t have it in their head the way you do. You have to put it in their mind. We have to help the reader see it as we do, which means it has to be detailed out.

If you say, “I see a rolling green hill”. Well the person reading this will only picture a hill of green grass. If you want them to see more then say it more like this. “As I sit here, I see a hill that goes beyond the eye. It is covered in wildflowers that are vibrant with color. The sky is dotted with a few fluffy white clouds and the blue is in deep contrast to the green grass. It is a breathtaking sight to behold.” See how you draw in the reader and help them to see what you see.

Hope everyone had a safe Halloween and take it easy on the candy.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Crazy Maybe, Thankful Definitely…

How many writers have been told they’re nuts? I know I have. It’s almost hilarious the looks you get when you say you’re a writer. Some give you a sympathetic look. Some give you that ‘you can’t do anything else with your life,’ look. The one I love is the one where they look like ‘you’re nuts.” Ok, well maybe I am, but it’s something I love.

Now anyone can say they’re writers, but how many can say they’re published writers? The first question usually asked is, “How’s that working out for you?” I always laugh and say it’s going wonderfully for me. I can finally say what I dreamed of years and years ago, “I’m a published author and am making money with my dream.”

As for the “you can’t do anything else with your life”, well if you’ve read my bio you know I do a lot with my life. We are only given one chance at the pie so why not dip your fork into every slice you can. I run a successful accounting business which I built through experience and passion for the work. I’m a Children’s Ministry Director and dearly love what I do to minister to children. Then I get to do what only some sit and dream about. I get to put my dreams and thoughts into writing. I get to put romance, love, tears, heart and other emotions into someone’s life through my words. It’s a very humbling feeling to hear from my fans. Good or bad I have some faithful fans that ask when’s the next book coming out, where’s this character going from here, and so many more questions.

So where am I going with this post? I’m so thankful for the fans that support my writing. I’m thankful for the ones that write the adoring reviews and emails that I love reading every morning. This past year I’ve made friends all over the world and it’s been a very exciting time in my life. So, without further ado, I want to announce a huge sale. I’m doing a sale that will start today and run throughout Novemeber to show my thanks to all that follow me and even those that don’t but might start later.

The sales will be on all my stand alone books, not the bundles as they’re already reduced based on the amount of books included. You can find them at http://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Hurt/e/B00850W7U8 and https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/StephaniePayneHurt and http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Stephanie+Payne+Hurt.

Soon they will show up on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Sony and the other sites where my books are located. It usually takes about a week for the prices to show up on these sites, but the above link should start showing today and tommorow. So thanks and if you feel like it, give a review. I love to hear your thoughts.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday Morning’s Second Cup

If you haven’t noticed yet, it’s Monday morning. Yes, I know, don’t remind you.

Yesterday I went over one of my manuscripts in process. It’s the 2nd book in the “Lean On Him” Christian Romance series. The name is “Faith Through The Tears” and tears are the main point. I’ve been working on another manuscript and decided to get back to this one. I read over the manuscript to get my mindset on it and was blown away at the emotions.

As I read the opening 1st chapter tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t help but get emotional. I don’t know whether it stems from the emotional week I’ve had or what, but it affected me. Yes it’s a romance, not a dramatic thriller, but the first chapter is to draw you into the story. I will attach some of the first chapter below for your opinion. It’s funny but I have this whole book in my mind already. It’s just the emotional strain that’s made me walk away a couple of times.

Why does a fictional story evoke so much emotion? As a writer its like I know these people and what happens to them affects me. I feel like I’ve experienced the losses they have and the happiness they have. Maybe that’s a sign of good emotional writing, I don’t know, but I do know I’m keeping the tissues close as this one unfolds.

So, here’s a excerpt from “Faith Through The Tears” :

As he watched her lying in the hospital bed, tears streamed down his face. It was so hard watching her like this. They knew this moment was coming, but it’d happened so quickly. The doctor confirmed that she was out of remission only a month ago. He told them it didn’t look good for another round of chemo. They prayed on it and decided not to even try any more treatments.

He held her hand and watched for any sign that she might be in pain. She was a real trooper. Luke and Amanda brought the girls by and Rachel held up the strong act. They tried to hide the extent of her illness from the kids. The girls were so strong. Audrey was five and Shelby six. Audrey’s lip began to quiver a little as she looked at her mommy lying so pale on the bed. Shelby was quiet as she kept her eyes on the floor. When she did look at Rachel it was plain that she was holding back tears. They were too small to lose their mother. He was too young to lose the love of his life.

The nurse came in and checked her IV bag. She looked at Randy and gave him a smile that said how sorry she was. “Can I get you anything?” There was so much compassion in her eyes and the tone of her voice. She knew the same thing he knew. The time was near.

“Thank you, but I’m alright. I don’t think I could keep food down anyway.” He tried to smile, but it came off wobbly and moist from his tears. How could he even try to eat when his stomach was clenched in misery?

“If you need anything just buzz the nurse’s station. You’ll make yourself sick by not eating. You need to keep up your strength.” She gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder and walked out. All the nurses knew him since he was on the police force. This was a small town and most of them went to their Church.

Their pastor and his wife had been wonderful. They took turns with Luke and Amanda watching the girls. The Church had even done a prayer vigil two days ago. He knew that God would do His will. He knew that Rachel was a good woman and had given her soul to the Lord a long time ago. She wasn’t afraid to die. They’d discussed and prayed about it on many occasions. The only fear she had was for him and the girls. Her eyes filled with tears just talking about the girls growing up.

Well, this was the unedited excerpt, hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

How does social media help writers?

Good morning. Getting back to normal since son went back to school this morning. As I sit here going through all my social media sites I have to reflect on the last year. It’s been a crazy ride for sure.

To start with, before I published my first book in May 2012, I only used email and texting when communicating. I learned quickly that as a published author you must use social media almost daily to keep up with changing climates. With this I mean that if you don’t keep your name fresh in front of people it loses it’s luster.

I did a short experiment the last couple of weeks. I went in a different times and tweeted my books to see if I gathered a result. Then I put them out on Facebook and Tumbler. What did I learn? Well I learned a lot.

When I tweeted the links to my books listed on Smashwords.com, I actually saw a spike in page views. I love this about Smashwords.com. I can keep up with views and really do a great analysis of what works and what doesn’t. I then did the same through my Amazon links. The bad thing with Amazon, you can’t see how many go over to look at the book, you just have to see how sales spike. I only received a few sales through that one.

I then posted several Smashword.com links on my Facebook page. All of a sudden sales spiked, but on Amazon, not Smashwords it’s self. Now on Smashwords it could show up later under one of the subsidiary sites, but not the main site. I even tried this with Allromanceebooks.com and sold one book.

So, with this I did notice a spike in views through tweeting and Facebook. Some analysts say don’t tweet about your books very often as you’ll lose followers. Well, I didn’t tweet about my books for several days and guess what I lost several followers. Then when I did tweet about my books I gained several new followers. Not sure, but I think it went in the other direction.

As I’m getting ready to announce the release date for “Victoria” the first book in my new Historical Romance Saga “The Women Of Magnolia Hill”, I’m hoping to see a great social media presence. This is my first book that I’m going to go through all the pre release hoopla. I can’t wait to get started. Maybe even as soon as this weekend. I plan to also participate in the new preorder option on Smashwords. Would love to do it on Amazon, but not sure how that works. If anyone knows, please let me know.

Try a social media study on your book sales and let me know how it goes. It might change your views on social media advertising. As for me, I’m headed over to do some tweeting 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Well it’s here – Ghost Lover is officially 1!

Can you believe it? I can’t. My first published novel, “Ghost Lover” is one today. It’s hard to fathom that I’ve been publishing books for a solid year. It’s been a fantastic ride.

Ghost Lover was in the works for a long time before it was published. I used snippets from my past and creativity from my brain (that’s scary). It was a work of love and excitement. When I finished this book I was satisfied, but the satisfaction came when the first book sold and the first great review came through.

Through my publishing I’ve met some really extraordinary people from all over the world. I can’t tell you how much fun it’s been blogging, tweeting and emailing with all of you. Some of you have become great friends and I’ll treasure those friendships for a lifetime.

My writing has taken me to many corners of the earth and that was without leaving my little corner in Georgia. I’ve had friends ask me if I’m fulfilled with my writing and I can honestly say, YES!!!

I had a former male companion ask me one day if I used anything from our relationship in the books. I just smiled and winked telling him I’d never tell my secrets. If he’d read the books he’d know he never showed up. I’m sure the person or people who inspired some of the characters will recognize themselves if they read it.

As for the cowboy on the front cover, no I don’t know him as some have speculated. He’s from a purchased photo at BigStock. My husband often asks about the inspiration for some of the parts of the books and then he waves both hands frantically and says “Don’t tell me and I’ll be none the wiser.” By the way he’s never read one of my books. He says he’s too afraid he’ll see himself. I assured him that most of my writing is purely fiction with only some parts from my past. Since he knows the ghosts from my past he would recognize easily where they are and who or what inspired them. I try to keep the mystery alive.

As for Ghost Lover, it’s been reborn and revised. Don’t worry, I didn’t change the story, but I did do some editing. Throughout the last year of writing and publishing I’ve listened to my readers and changed some of my styles. When I read the book again for the revision I sat with a tissue box and enjoyed every minute. It brought back the ghosts that haunt me and why I wrote this book.

It’s available as of this morning on Amazon & Smashwords. It’ll be available on Allromanceebooks.com and Barnes & Noble in the next week. Also on Kobo, SOny, Apple and Diesel. So go check it out and let me know what you think. I’d really love to hear some feedback.

As always, Good writing and may God bless you…

P.S. Thanks for everything great friends…

It’s Release Day! Finally!

Well today’s the day. It’s the release day for “Rekindled Flames”. I’m so excited about this one. Some of my blog friends have posted promotional blogs for me. Thanks for that. The author community is awesome. We have to look out for each other.

Here’s a brief description:

“Rekindled Flames” the 2^nd in the Flames of Love Series By Stephanie Payne Hurt

He haunts her dreams; She torments his nights!

When Lydia returns home for her father’s funeral she’s forced to face hard reality. She left town two years earlier with a secret and a broken heart. As she sits at the graveside she sees the man that’s haunted her dreams for those two years. She realizes it’s time to tell him the secret she’s carried around for two years, but will he forgive her or turn away? The fire they started that fated New Year’s Eve two years ago has smoldered, building in intensity and heat. Can they rebuild the fire or will the secret put it out forever? Take the journey with these two and find out if love wins or will it burn out?

Books will be available in EBook edition on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple, Kobo, Google Play and Diesel. Paperbacks also available through these sites as well as CreateSpace.

Not sure what time today it’ll be up and available, but just keep checking. Please if you take the time to read it submit a review. It would be greatly appreciated.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Evanescence and other muses I use…

How do you get in the writing mood? Do you listen to music? Does the mood just strike at any given time without much help?

Sometimes I just wake up in the writing mood or just when an idea for a story hits I just have to write. This afternoon I was listening to Pandora radio on my laptop as I did tax returns. Exciting for a Sunday afternoon I know, but it’s that time of year. Well, anyhow, I was listening and I have Evanescence radio dialed in on Pandora. I just love to hear Amy Lee sing. Her voice is so haunting and smooth.

So as I listened to “Hello” which is a really deep song, not in voice, but in emotional. It made me think that music can evoke so many emotions. This songs makes me want to write. I don’t know why deep songs do that to me, but they do. Sometimes I hear a Christian song and I’m suddenly at my laptop typing. Sometimes it’s a country love song that does it.

What inspires you? If you’ve ever looked at my Youtube trailer videos for my books you’ll notice a definite trend. They are mostly to the music of Evanescence.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, or what’s left of it. Can’t wait til tomorrow as it’s the big release of the much awaited 2nd book in the “Flames of Love” Series – Rekindled Flames. Thanks to the blog friends that said they would send out my promotional page. If anyone else would like to just let me know or reblog tomorrow’s post.

As always, good writing, and May God Bless You!

Let’s Talk Print On Demand

What’s been your experience with Print On Demand? It took me a few months to decide whether I wanted to go down this road. I weighed several options and found that CreateSpace offered the best bang for the buck. So I took a deep breath and jumped, hanging on to the edge for a moment then finally with the help of my editor/assistant I let go. (She would say I went kicking and screaming. It wasn’t all that bad. Really it wasn’t ;))

If you’ve never looked into CreateSpace I would suggest giving them a try. They make it so easy to submit your book and cover. But remember you have to have the back and spine completed also. Now that was a different monster in itself. We had to read the instructions about measuring the spine. Yep it’s a fine science and guess what, if you don’t do it right the spine design with wrap around to the front and back. Thank goodness the one it did that on with me actually turned out looking pretty cool.

With CreateSpace you can pay only $25 and go into their expanded distribution program. This sends your books to several wholesale distributors and big book franchises. I at first wondered if this was going to be a good thing, but when I googled one of my books it was amazing how many places my books have shown up. One day I found my books on someones blog that I had no idea who they were. That was so cool. Then it started happening pretty frequently. It’s like you’re paying $25 for advertising.

Also your book goes on Amazon and you can connect it to your author page. When Amazon recognized book stores pick up your print book, Amazon posts it on your book page. Sometimes the other companies post a different price then you input but you still get what you’re supposed to.

As for sales on the CreateSpace page, not many but you as the author can buy them really cheap from CreateSpace. All you pay is the print costs and shipping. At least you have your book in print without paying a huge printing fee. Try it, you might be surprised. Hope this helps you out or gives you a little food for thought.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

Not so Shameless Post :)

Well, I haven’t made a shameless advertising post lately. Hey, I’m a author, what can I say. So here goes. Check out the 6 books that I’ve published at the following author pages:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/StephaniePayneHurt

Also available at Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Kobo, Diesel, Sony, Apple, Abe Books, and others.

It’s been such a fun experience being a published author. I’ve met so many wonderful people from all over the world. It’s amazing how a book can connect you with others. I didn’t really believe it when I received such a warm welcome to the writing world. I wouldn’t change it for nothing.

If you check out my books please send out a review. Join me on Goodreads, LibraryThing, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for more of the fun. Recently I joined Romance Writers of America which had been something I’ve wanted to do for a while.

If you get a chance, check out the magazine Fleetlife in the UK for a review of “Tender Flames” that was entered by my friend Rosie Amber. It’s located in the January 2013 issue. http://t.co/Z6GosFwq.

So, that’s it. Not too long and painful. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You 🙂