From Tuscany & Beyond…

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Good Wednesday morning! Sorry, it’s been a little while since my last post. As most of you know, I’m an accountant, so this is my busy busy busy season! Not to mention I have a couple of writing deadlines, yes, I’m a glutton for punishment.

With Tuscany, I stepped out and took a chance. This book pulled at me like no other. I could see it being destined to do well. First step, I entered it into the Harlequin ‘So You Think You Can Write’ contest, with fingers crossed and anything else that would cross. It made it to the Top 55 of over 950 books. Yes, I did a happy dance and screamed. Even though it didn’t get any further, I knew it could go the distance.

Then, I decided to pitch it to Solstice Publishing, hoping they’d see what I saw and within 48 hours I had a lovely email from the editor. I’d sold Tuscany to Solstice and they wanted it. As most of you know, I’ve published 30 books, but this is the only one with a publisher other than myself. I’ve loved everything about the experience and wouldn’t change a thing. Solstice took Tuscany to news heights.

My dream for Tuscany is to see it one day make it into the hands of Hallmark Channel, but what romance author doesn’t dream of that. So, for now, I’ll keep typing away and dreaming of the day that it happens…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Fear as a writer…

Good morning! Hope all is well with everyone as we start this Thursday morning or afternoon, wherever you wonderful people are 😉

Fear, everyone has felt fear at one time or the other. Don’t lie, you know you have. As a child, we had fear of strangers and storms. As adults, we have many fears. Maybe we fear financial issues, for our children, the future… etc. There are a lot of fears in this world, but I want to talk about the fear as a writer.

The moment I hit submit on Ghost Lover, the first book I published in May 2012, I was sweating. My palms were damp, my heart was racing, in easy terms, I was a mess. What if nobody likes my writing? What if this is a mistake? What if… What if… What if… Then the emails started coming from readers that fell in love with Jared and Jessie. The fear was alleviated for a moment, then came the next book and the next.

Does my fear ease with each book I publish? Some, but not completely. I’m always afraid of the unknown. Even though my books are poured over and over with edits and rewrites and such, I still have that fear that I’m sending out my work with flaws. Even the best-edited book has flaws and I have to remind myself of that. My fans are so precious and let me know every day the pleasure they get from the words I put on the page, but still, I feel like I could’ve added more to the story, went over it one more time, or even changed something.

Then there’s the fear of not selling a single book, yikes…. Yes, that’s a fear. In January, my sales went on a downward spiral and I had to catch my breath. After an amazing end of 2016, it was like a kick in the gut. But, as I sought out other authors to see if it was happening to them, they confirmed that they too were seeing a sharp decline in sales. Even the authors that normally sell thousands of copies a month were down to hundreds. Although that should make me feel better, it only made my fear worse. Had people stopped reading? LOL! Yes, it was an irrational fear, but it still came through this ditsy blonde head.

Then, the sales started to rise. Yes, my fear was going away, but then a new fear arose. Could I do more to keep that from happening again? The truth is, no. We can’t control what people do or trends, so, I picked myself up off the pity floor and moved forward.

So, as a writer, what do you fear?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Book #30…

Wow~ I knew I was getting close and thought I had one more to go, but upon checking and counting, I found out that ‘Promises Made’ was actually my 30th book to be published. Of course, if you count the books that are combos it’s more, but the 30 are separate books.

This May, I will celebrate five years of publishing and it makes me a little misty-eyed as I go back through my list of books. It’s hard to believe that I’ve hit 30! When I first began publishing the manuscripts that were in my head, I imagined hitting ten books published, then twenty, and now I’m at thirty. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Was it easy? No! Writing isn’t as easy as people think. Anyone can write something down, but can they make it a book? Meaning, can they make the story they want to write flow through from start to finish? Writing is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been writing stories since I was a teenager and that’s a long time. But, the moment you publish what’s been hanging around in your mind, you put your heart and soul out there for everyone to see. It’s scary!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

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Monday, Coffee and a book…

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Good Monday morning! I don’t know about all of you, but I could’ve used one more day in the weekend. Funny thing, I had planned to get some work done in the office and write at least 5000 words over the weekend. Did I meet my goal? Well, I got some work done, but not the word count. My weekend word count was pitiful…

For some reason, my writer-brain was on vacation this weekend. But as I went about cleaning house, working on tax returns and going about the business of life, my mind was on my current manuscript. I went over scenes in my head, but couldn’t make myself sit down at my laptop and write it down. Why? I have no clue. I wouldn’t call it writer’s block. Actually, I don’t know what to call it, but I hear a lot of other writers complain of this.

So, as I write this post, I’m preparing for my writing binge this morning before I go to the office. I’m working on my second cup of coffee and then I’ll grab a third just to make sure my brain is awake and what I write will make sense.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S.: Don’t forget to grab a copy of ‘Promises Made’. It’s up and running… https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Made-Sky-Ridge-Book-ebook/dp/B06W9LDLV7 You’ll fall in love with Nash and Joy!

Writer Beware!!!

Good morning! It’s almost the weekend folks, so just be patient, it will come…

We as writers want to sell books, right? But, at what lengths will we go or how much money will we spend in order to sell them? This post is not about advertising or promoting, it’s about the leeches that come around when you publish a book.

Yesterday, I received a call from a publishing company. Of course, at first, your heart pounds and your ears roar for a tiny second… At least mine used to. I’ve received so many calls with fantastic news… “You have caught our eye and we want to give you the moon”. Unfortunately, the moon comes at a steep price. And yes, we all want the moon, right?

I sat and listened to this guy just shower Highlander’s Heart with praises, which alright, yes, that made me feel good. But, you see, I was googling this guys publishing company as he talked. The second through fifth things that came up were about a scam and it was from other authors who had fallen into their trap. So, I went over to their website, the poor guy was still gushing about the millions that I could make if I went with their company… The very first page offered three packages for getting ‘in’ with them. I won’t even post the prices they were so ludicrous.

The poor little guy then went on to tell me that he could put my book on the silver screen immediately. I’m sorry folks, but I had to cover my mouth as the laughter bubbled forth. Anyone in this business knows that it’s not a straight line to the silver screen unless you are lucky enough to catch the eye of a big-time person in the movie business. But, I was nice, I continued to listen.

Then, he said and we’ll put you in touch with our review site to get the reviews to boost the sales of your very first published book. If I hadn’t heard the warning bells earlier in the conversation, this would have been the moment of the bell clanging. You see, I’m about to publish my 30th book, so that told me this little guy’s supposed research of me was completely false.

At this time in our conversation, or shall I say his, because I was pretty much scanning social media at this point, but I was getting a little tired of listening. I decided to end the really badly rehearsed speech he was giving me about the reach I could have with them. I told him to email the information and I’d have my publishing legal team check it out. (Like I have a publishing legal team, but it was fun to say 😉 ). At this point in the conversation, the guy started stuttering and telling me to check out their rating on the better business bureau, which I’d already done in the first five minutes of the conversation. By the way, it was horrible.

So, the moral of this post is, if you get a call from a publishing company, please do your homework. I’ve received calls from some of the bigger names in publishing, but they were wanting money to promote my work. Beware of the leeches and make sure you do your homework before you sign on the dotted line.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday morning writing…

It’s the Monday after the Super Bowl and everyone is sluggish and sleepy. Some are grumpy, and some are smiling broadly. I’m not a huge football fan, but since Georgia had a team in it, I watched some of it. Of course, my son and hubby watched the whole thing.

Oh well, on to writing. I’ve been working on ‘Promises Made’, the first book in the Sky Ridge Series. It’s a sweet story of how love comes in when you least expect it and sweeps you off your feet. As the series progresses, there will be trials and tribulations. Things will not always be as they seem.

I love writing historical romance. There are so many aspects of history that can be delved into. The research is fascinating and gives me ideas for more stories, so it’s a win-win!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

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Where did January go?

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It’s hard to believe that it’s already February! I feel like I just got settled into the new year and then, bam, another month has passed by in a flash. My grandmother always said, the older you get, the faster times goes by. Of course, when I was young, I thought that was the silliest thing ever. Now, I get it.

So much water has flowed under this bridge that some days I can hardly believe that I’m nearing the half-century mark. Don’t go there! I don’t feel my age and I certainly don’t act it, but it’s there none the less. And to think, my baby is graduating high school in May, what???

Another milestone I’m facing this year, but it’s a good one is that I’ve been a published author for five years. May 12th will mark Ghost Lover’s fifth year in publication. To think, this time five years ago, I was still skeptical about putting my name and work out to the public and now I’m nearing the publication of my 30th book. Yes, I said 30! That’s another thing that baffles my mind. I guess the old adage is true, time flies when you’re having fun!

This Sunday, the hubby and I will celebrate 23 years of blissful marriage. Some days it feels like just yesterday, then other days it feels like we’ve been together our whole lives. That’s what romance does to you, it blows your mind. I wouldn’t take anything for all of the adventures we’ve had and the things we’ve shared.

Now, as I sit here, getting ready to do my morning writing, I’m gazing at my calendar. Yep, I had better get off this post before I fall further behind and have to deal with my assistant’s frown. She has a tendency to look at my writing calendar and tsk tsk at me. LOL!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!

Write every day… Or not?

Good morning! The question is, do you write every day or not? In other words, do you at least put a couple of words into your manuscript every day?

If you follow my blog, you know I have a word count that I try to meet every day, but can I be honest? Some days life steps in and I don’t meet that word count. Eeeeek… Yes, it happens and totally stresses me out when it happens. So, what do I do?

My advice is to try to write a little something every day, if only just a paragraph. If you don’t keep up a regular writing schedule, it’s hard to get back in the groove when you do. If I have a day that there’s no way I’ll get any writing in, I try to at least do a blog post, whether it’s short or not. Also, when I do get to write the next day, I try to make up the lost word count from the day before.

And no, I don’t get to write every day during tax season. But I try to set my writing goals lower during this three month period, that way I’m not stressing over word counts too.

So, what is your daily writing ritual?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Romance…

Good Monday morning! Hope you had a restful weekend… The topic of today, Romance. There are so many facets of romance that it boggles the mind, but I want to talk about something I read the other day that quite frankly made me giggle… so here goes…

I was reading a writing post and someone chimed in with a comment on romance writers. She said, ‘Why do romance writer’s write about romance as though it’s an achievable goal; when in fact, romance is a myth?’

I know… GASP!!!!! When I read this I sat back and sighed. Romance is not a myth! For one thing, romance should be a goal in your relationship with your significant other. I have romance in my marriage. For example, at the moment, my husband is building me a farm table for my dining room. It’s the most romantic gesture because he knew I wanted one, so he’s making it happen.

Now, I do agree that as romance writer’s we do embellish, but that’s for the entertainment of our readers. If we just wrote a book about everyday life and included no extraordinary romance in it, would we keep our readers? I know that, personally, when I pick up a romance, I want to be wooed by the romance that spills from the authors words. A frilly romance can put a smile on your face.

You can get lost in the romance of a book. The unreal aspects of books are what makes them so much fun to read. But folks, romance is real. It doesn’t have to be wine and roses every day. It can simply be a look across the table or holding hands for no reason.

So, give me your thoughts…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

If you get a chance, my newest release came out last night, ‘Sowing the Right Seed’, so go by and check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Sowing-Right-Seed-Lean-Book-ebook/dp/B01MUDJL8O

Also, sign up to be on my street team or simply to get my monthly newsletter at www.stephaniehurtauthor.com.

Character Sketches…

It’s Friday! Yea! But I have some work to do. With two new series starting up this year, I have several things to do and one of those things is character sketches. If you’re asking what the heck is a character sketch, well, let me fill you in…

Alright, here goes… When you start a new book, there are several steps, but one of the most important during the writing process is the character information. Let me explain how I do my character information sheets.

1. I grab my notebook that will be for the series notes and I keep all my information in it. This notebook stays in my writing bag for quick retrieval. This is very important to have at your fingertips because if you’re halfway through book two and can’t remember what someone’s name is or what they do, you’ll need to be able to grab that without having to read book one to jog your memory.

2. First off, you need to name your characters, starting with the main ones. Then add the details. Let’s face it, when you’re writing that character, you know what they look like, but your reader doesn’t unless you show them. So, under the character sketch, you put every detail you can. I include A. Name

A. Name

B. Description: Hair color, eye color, height, build, disposition, age, birthdate, etc. You get the idea.

C. Family that might show up in the stories. Brothers, sisters, parents, etc.

D. Where are they from and where do they live now?

E. Now, this is where the fun starts, leave plenty of room for added notes. As a story unfolds, you’ll build the character sketch. If they get a new career, get married, have children. Add anything new to the character. This helps down the road and keeps you from having to keep looking back.

3. Make sure you have one for every character you add. Well, if they are only making a one time appearance, leave them out, but if it’s even just the store owner and your character occasionally goes to the store, then you need to add them.

So, do you prepare character sketches? I didn’t for a long time and it was so frustrating, but through writing studies, I’ve learned how to make life easier. Writing is a crazy world of names, places, plots, and so much more that you have to have a way to keep it straight.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…