Can you write sadness out?

As a writer I can write about happy things, sad things or bad things, but if I want them to go away I can just erase them and start over. In life we can’t just write it out of the program. Life happens and keeps going whether the sadness stops or not. Today I received a really hard call. One of my long time clients and a really good friend lost her battle with lung cancer last night. When I talked with her before her last trip to the hospital she was so positive. Her attitude was that she was going to kick cancer’s butt. She was a woman of faith and she knew everything would be alright either way. We often talked about our faith and the hope of tomorrow. She knew where she was headed and was at peace with it as all Christian’s should be. Her wish was not to suffer and cause her family to suffer and she did receive that wish.

Sometimes in life we just want to hit the backspace and try to go back over everything so that we can change things. That’s what I’d like to do right now. I want this to be one of my manuscripts where I can just erase it and start again. But I know what my friend would say, she’d tell me to quit being silly and to remember who she was, not what she had. She was a special woman with such a sweet spirit.

Life is hard to take at times. I channel my emotions through my writing. I’ve sat for hours pouring over my writing to get emotions to ease or a problem solved. Someone that’s not a writer might not understand this need, but if you’re a writer you’ll know what I’m talking about. I guess you could say that writers use some extra chromosome or something to that nature to channel our emotions. That’s what makes us writers because we do have extreme emotions.

As I sit here writing this post, I know that my friend is well again. She’s probably laughing at me and shaking her head as she often did. I know that death is part of life and we all will go down that road one day, but when it hits close to your heart it’s as though time stops for a moment as you register what just happened. You’ve lost a segment of your life.

All of us experience loss in our lives. It’s inevitable if you live long enough. Everyone expresses grief in different ways. Some people go forward and ignore it until the pressure builds, while others cry and get it over with. I have to admit to shedding some tears this morning. It helps to relieve the pressure valve. When I start on my writing this afternoon, I know it will be a powerful writing session as I write the emotion out and try to come to grip with my sadness.

This is wishing all of you well and hoping you have a sunny day.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Giveaway of free Audio Books…

I’ve been working on two of my latest manuscripts a lot lately. I know I’ve been blogging only here and there. These two books have demanded my complete attention and I’ve been giving in to the calling. But I do have a special message for all my readers and friends. Audible.com has given me 25 codes to the audio book for Open The Heart.

If you haven’t had time to read Open The Heart, then why not listen to it? So, here’s the deal. All you have to do is message me at stephaniehurt4@gmail.com and the first 25 to send me a message will get the code to unlock your free audio book.

So run, don’t walk to your email and send me a message.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What are you waiting for?

Lately I’ve received several messages from writers that talked about not publishing their work. My question is always, ‘Why not?’ It’s so easy nowadays. Of course I was skeptical when I hit the publish button the first time, but over 10 books later I haven’t looked back.

It’s such a rewarding feeling when you sell the first book. But the feeling of accomplishment far out weighs any of the nerves I had. It’s funny how the nerves always hit before I publish my books, even several books in. I always get anxious and wonder if anyone will like my work, then I hear from some of my dedicated fans and I smile.

If you put your heart into your writing, why not put it out there? Don’t let those manuscripts just collect dust. I did that for so many years. Take the leap and put it out there. Whether you self publish or go with a traditional publisher, do it. It’s worth the try and you won’t regret it. Don’t let the years go by and the books fade away.

If you need any help with covers, editing, social media setup for your books or anything with the publishing, check out the tab at the top of my blog. I own Horseshoe Publishing along with my editor. We help take the pain out of publishing. Just sit back and write.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday morning question…

I’ve been throwing around the idea of writing a Pirate romance, but I had been wondering if it was a good idea. Of course as you know I don’t go with the flow, but I didn’t want to just be left out in the dark. I started to check out current Pirate romances and noticed that not many exist in current writing.

I received my Romance Writers of America magazine this weekend and was reading an article from several editors and agents. A couple of the agents were telling what they’d like to see less of and more of in the future. Guess what? They wanted to bring back the Pirate romance. I did a little happy dance and started my outline and cover details as soon as I finished the article.

When I was young the craze was Pirate romance. I still have a box full of great ones. I’m excited about getting it started really soon. I made sure the outline was very detailed so that it stays fresh in my mind. But as most of you know, I can’t just work on one manuscript at the time. I also want to assure the fans that are eagerly and impatiently ( 😉 ) waiting on Emma Rose that it’s still in the works.

So, what are you writing this week and have you ever read a Pirate romance?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

The author that start it for me…

If you’ve read my bio then you know I’ve been writing for many, many years, but only started publishing in the last two years. For me it all started when I was a tender, young teenager and I picked up the first Danielle Steel book, Remembrance. I was entranced in the splendor of her writing. The story took me across the ocean to Italy and I was carried away with the story.

The story filled me with inspiration and helped kickstart my career as a writer, but of course I didn’t know that at the time. The book was filled with so many emotions such as anger, romance, love, grief, sadness and excitement. I was lost to the great romance book. I even wanted to go to Italy and experience this feeling there.

I read this two inch thick book twice that summer. The next year at school I actually did a book report on the book. My teacher was skeptical at first, but then she allowed it. Let’s just say, I turned many listeners over to Danielle Steel fans. I found myself scanning books in the store many times to grab her books.

Now, back then we didn’t have Amazon, so there was no looking up online. Then I was given a membership in the DoubleDay Book Club and that really did it for me. With the membership I was given several free books and yep, they were all Danielle Steel. When they arrived I was in awe. I was the happiest girl. I remember inhaling the scent of the newly printed pages and believe me when I say that I still do this with new paper backs.

I still have those many stories that I handwrote so many years ago. Although the writing has faded slightly, I can still feel the same excitement as I read them. Some of my books that have been published started from those books.

Do you have a author that’s inspired you? Tell us about them.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Summertime writing inspiration!

Does this picture inspire you? It inspires me. I could go in so many directions with this one picture. Since it’s alread hot and balmy here in Georgia and it’s only 10:30 in the morning, this mostly inspires me to run across and jump off the end into the cool, blue water.

For some reason when the seasons start to change I get inspired. The changes always give me a little food for thought. I love the way God just makes things happen and the beauty that abounds around us. It’s breathtaking. Even in the hottest summer days it is breathtaking.

Does a good summer storm exhilerate you? Maybe it’s just a me thing, but I feel exhilerated as I watch the thunderheads loom in the distance and the lightning flashing through them like tiny explosions. I sit on my porch or back deck and watch from a safe distance. Hey I do have some sense enough to get out of the storm. The air always feel electric and exciting. As the storm nears you feel the deep vibrations of the thunder rumbling. Then the first pitter patter of tiny rain drops that turn into big drops. Oh, the fun of a summer evening storm. They come and go quickly, but the power is evident.

Maybe it’s the excitement that inspires me to write. What inspires you? Do the seasons give you reason to write?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What’s the latest trend? Does it matter?

There’s so many trends in writing. It’s obvious if you go on bestsellers in the Amazon search you will see lots of Cowboy Romance. That’s a good thing for someone like me that writes Cowboy Romance. But what if you don’t write those types of romance? It’s quite simple really. Write what you love.

I’ve said this over and over and I’ll say it again. Write what you love. If you try to write about something that you don’t love or something you’re not familiar with, well it will show in your writing. Why not start your own trend. If you write about romantic fairies that meet you in the woods, well that’s what you need to write about. Make it popular. Write the novel that will put it on the board.

I’ve noticed several trends since I’ve been writing. When I was a teenager which was a long while ago and no I will not tell you how long ago, the trend was pirate romance. I loved them and still have several of those in my massive book collection. I was searching Amazon the other day and noticed several pirate romances popping up. Interesting. I think maybe we have a swing in trends. I also noticed several that graced country boys sitting on their trucks. They weren’t necessarily cowboys, but ball cap, blue jean wearing country boys. Another interesting theme.

We’ll see where it goes, but I think the winds of change affect many writers. Some get affected in a good way and others let it take them down a road of no man’s land. Don’t let it happen to you. Write what you’re passionate about and make it the best you’ve ever written. If it’s good, people will find it and maybe make it a new trend. You’ll never know until you put it out there. So go for it!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Monday Morning Coffee…

Good morning! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. My weekend was great and I got a lot done. I cleaned my house Saturday morning and then grabbed my laptop and headed for the back deck. I recently purchased a large dark green market umbrella for my table, so I opened it and sat down to work. I was able to get in a couple of thousand words which is great.

Writing outside is so awesome. I enjoyed the slight breeze that was blowing and the sunshine all around me. The birds were singing happily in the trees and I was playing one of my writing playlists on the computer. Of course I had my new puppy outside with me. She was running everywhere and biting my toes, but I still managed to get in a lot of work.

As most of you know I have several books in the works. This weekend I worked on Emma Rose which is the 2nd book in the Women of Magnolia Hill Saga. It’s crazy how you get into a piece of writing and then you’re taken away on the adventure. I enjoy this series so much because I love history. It’s fun to write about the history of the great state of Georgia.

As for today, I’ll be back to the office. I do need to work on my other job some. My accounting clients don’t like it when I don’t keep up their work. Some days it’s hard not to pull up a manuscript and write. Since all of it is on the same laptop the books are always there taunting me. Most days I can be strong, but Mondays make it hard. Maybe I need another cup of coffee before heading out to the office. Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do. I hope everyone is having a great Monday so far. So I’m off to refill my mug and then back to the real world.

As always, good writing and may God Bless You…

Lost in my characters

Have you ever lost yourself in your characters? I think all writers do at one time or another. What’s crazy is I was talking with someone the other day and started to tell them something that happened to a friend and then I realized it had happened to a character in my book. I just shut my mouth and decided to get my head on straight before I talked again. Maybe that’s why most writer’s choose the life of a recluse.

Sometimes when I’m writing I get so lost in my characters world that I have to readjust to my own life. It’s a fact that you have to get into your characters head in order to write a believeable character. If you don’t get involved with the character how can you even begin to tell their story. it would be like writing about someone you’ve never met or seen. It’s almost impossible.

For me I like to write a character bio on all the main characters. That way everytime they do something new, then I write it down so that my characters stay true to form. This helps when writing a series where the characters appear in several books. Oh and for goodness sakes make sure you note ages and names. That’s so embarassing when your editor asks who the new character is midway of the book and you realize you accidentally changed their name. Yep, been there done that.

Lately I’ve been lost in the 1800’s while writing Emma Rose. I’m really excited about this new installment in the Women Of Magnolia Hill Saga. But I do have to make sure I keep up with the times that I’m writing in. Emma Rose has taken over my brain, so I need to get back to her story. I’ll be revealing the cover really soon.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Throwback Thursday – A Love Never Lost

It’s Thursday and time for another look back. As a writer I have several books that are my favs, but this book held a special place. It’s such a sweet romance and with a thrown in suspenseful element it takes you to a different place. As I wrote this romance I could see the ranch as if I was walking with the characters.

Some of the parts of this book were pulled from true life events, but I’ll just let you play with that comment. This cover was phenomenal in it’s design. I was so pleased when it was finished.

Everyone wants someone to love, but when it happens to be someone you’ve known all your life, things get interesting. Then throw in another man who wants the same woman, well you have fireworks that spark a firestorm. Yep, this one has some surprises in it.

Here’s a little excerpt from A Love Never Lost:

She slowly turned in his arms. She heard his sudden intake of breath. She looked up into his eyes and saw what she had feared. He was feeling the same thing as her. His eyes were dark with desire. She had to get a grip, but that was past reasoning.

He looked down into her eyes. It was as though this moment was made for them. They were the only two people on earth. He ran his hands slowly up her arms and framed her face with his hands. He was holding his breath. He finally took in a cleansing breath.

He knew he had to kiss her. If he didn’t he would surely explode. He slowly lowered his lips to hers. She realized what was about to happen. This was wrong somehow this had to be wrong.

She pulled her head back and turned back toward the window. He just stood there. He was unable to move. He wanted to kiss her so badly. His whole body was vibrating with desire for her.

He turned her back toward him. She kept her eyes focused on his boots. He reached out and lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. He could see desire and confusion in her eyes.

“What’s happening here?” He asked the question, but he knew the answer.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the circumstances.” She tried to pull away but he held her steady. He leaned his forehead toward hers. They stood there for a moment just trying to breath.

She put her hand on his chest. She could feel his heart beating wildly. She knew that he wanted to kiss her. She was so afraid that things would never be the same for them if they kissed. Her heart told her that it would never be the same if they did not kiss.

This book can be found at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Apple iTunes, Diesel, Oyster, Smashwords, CreateSpace and many others.

Also, go over and check out the video trailer at Youtube. Just search Stephanie Hurt and look for my picture. All of my book trailers will be listed.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…