Writing

Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas?

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One of the questions authors are frequently asked is, “Where do you get your story ideas?” I tell people, from all around. I see something interesting, hear an anecdote, meet a colorful individual, or read about a real-life event in the news or online. “You just have to pay attention,” I’m fond of saying to them.

For example, I went to a journalism event last week and met the most interesting gentleman. About five years ago, he returned to the small town in Colorado where he was raised and purchased the local newspaper which was on the brink of bankruptcy. The first thing he did was to hire his daughter as his head and only reporter. Within six months, he proceeded to turn the newspaper around and get it operating in the black again. I was very impressed and quite entertained by his many charming small town newspaper tales, especially when he talked about the 67 letters he found in an old file and that were written by the original owner from the 1880s. What a treasure! Those are probably a book all by themselves.

Immediately, my writer’s brain started to spin. I told myself, “There’s a story in there somewhere.” Does anyone remember the movie We Bought a Zoo? I think it was a book first. Anyway, We Bought a Zoo is the story of a heartbroken widower and father who buys a small, down on its luck zoo. I loved it the movie, by the way, and began to picturing something similar  — like, I Bought a Newspaper. Of course, in my story, the hero would be young and hire his sister rather than his daughter as head reporter.

No, wait! Better yet, my heroine would buy the newspaper and hire her brother as the reporter. And, of course, she would have to be at odds with the hero. Maybe he’s a developer who has plans of buying the building that houses the newspaper and turning it into a manufacturing plant. Only that would make him a bad guy, and he has to be good, right? I know. He wants to turn it into a state-of-the-art Urgent Care facility to service the town which only has an outdated clinic.

But how to make that a western? I got it! His family is wealthy, having made their money in the cattle business. They have the biggest ranch in the area. And my heroine could dig up some dirt on his family when she finds these old letters in a storage box. The kind of dirt that could ruin them.

Except what if I want to make this into a historical western? That would add all kinds of conflict for my heroine. As a woman business owner back in the old days, especially a newspaper publisher, she’d have a hard time being accepted by both men and woman. Probably no one would want to talk to her, which would make investigating stories and getting witnesses to talk hard.

Hmm…this might be something I need to print out and put in my idea file, which, no joke, is at least an inch thick. Yeah, the story idea needs a little work and polishing, for sure, but it could make for a good book, I think. And I do have the business card of the gentleman I met should I have research questions.

If nothing else, I have a really good answer when people ask me where I get my story ideas.

Guest Author Janice Cole Hopkins and a Giveaway

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Dime Novels

Dime novels came on the scene in America around the time of the Civil War. By then, printing technology had advanced, so it became feasible to produce cheaper books to sell in larger quantities. New York publishing firm, Beadle and Adams, published the first ones, calling them “Beadle’s Dime Novels.” Because of this and the fact that the books cost ten cents, dime novels became the term for all of them. In England, they were called “penny dreadfuls” with the first one being published in 1836.

These books were usually around a hundred pages long and had bright, colorful covers. The ones set in the West quickly became some of the most popular, but mysteries, military feats, explorers and adventurers, and romances had their niche. As you might guess, not all these writers were men. It’s estimated that from twenty-five to thirty percent were women. You might recognize some of the names among the dime novelists: Horatio Alger, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, Bret Harte, Zane Grey, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Max Brand, and Louisa May Alcott. Some used their real names, and some used pen names when writing dime novels. Often, this was how they got their start. Prentiss Ingraham, who made Buffalo Bill even more famous, completed more than 6oo novels.

The invention of the first practical typewriter in 1868 made it easier to write these short novels. An author could make up to $1,000 per book, which was a lot of money in the 1800s. One thousand dollars in 1870 would equal almost $25,000 today, and most writers could write a book a month. These books normally had a single plot and targeted the “common” class.

That’s what happened to my hero in The Writer’s Rescue. A debilitating accident on the ranch leads Wade Easton to become a wealthy Western dime novelist, but also a recluse. When he loses yet another housekeeper, he has no other option but to accept a woman he feels is too young for the job. However, she starts changing him without even trying. Can his own story perhaps be written with a different ending than he thought?

 

What do you find most fascinating about dime novels or novelists?

A name will be drawn from the comments to win a free Kindle copy of The Writer’s Rescue.

 

 

Check out The Writer’s Rescue at Amazon.

Welcome Guest Author Lacy Williams and a Giveaway

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One of my favorite childhood memories was heading over to my Aunt Donna’s house to spend the night. Often, we’d watch a favorite movie–the Apple Dumplin’ Gang was one of our top choices. It’s a movie hubby and I have shared with our kiddos to much laughter and shouts of “Mr. Donovan, I gotta go!”.

As a teen, While You Were Sleeping nudged out any other movie for my top favorite. It wasn’t only the romance that I loved, but the goofy family that seemed to enfold the lonely Lucy.

It wasn’t until I started writing that I realized there was a name for the types of movies and books where a main character gets enfolded in a friend group: the found family trope.

There’s a reason I love writing about this trope so much. I walked into a library meeting room in 2006 and found my writing family in an author’s group meeting. I’d always known I had stories inside of me, but sometimes it was difficult for my family (and later my husband) to understand how characters talked to me inside my brain. When I walked into that meeting room full of strangers and got to chatting… I knew I had found my people. They were just like me! It was as if an instant bond had formed.

Many of my books have explored the “found family” theme, including the second book I ever wrote, THE HOMESTEADER’S SWEETHEART, where the hero adopts a passel of boys, to ROPING THE WRANGLER, where a schoolteacher adopts three orphaned girls. And now I’ve got a brand new release, LOVE’S HEALING PATH, with heroine Maddie Fairfax. Maddie is a nurse and caring for a woman on her deathbed, a woman who demands a promise from Maddie. That promise is to take care of her three children when she dies. And it’s a promise that Maddie can’t refuse.

But Maddie is a single woman on a dangerous journey along the Oregon Trail and… and three children prove to be a LOT of work. I hope you’ll check out my new release and find out how things turn out for Maddie and the children.

Thanks for letting me visit with you today at P&P.

I’m going to give away a paperback copy of my brand new book and a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner from those who comment. I’d love to know: do you have a favorite movie or book that explores the found family theme?

-Lacy

 Visit Lacy William’s Website

Click Cover to Order From Amazon.

Maddie Fairfax may be young, but on this Oregon-bound wagon train, the pioneers welcome help from the self-trained nurse. Until Dr. Jason Goodwin joins up with their company. The doctor portrays a frosty exterior, but Maddie may be the only one who sees the profound loneliness that haunts him.

After losing his wife and children in a terrible accident, Jason has vowed not to open his heart again. But when Maddie takes on the care of three young orphans, Jason finds himself entangled in the lives of the makeshift family. And as their journey west continues, Maddie’s radiant compassion begins to light up the darkest corners of his heart.

Until the unthinkable happens. Will Jason’s guarded heart and Maddie’s untamed spirit pull them apart?

Tropes/themes:

  • May/December
  • ready-made family / adopted orphans
  • grumpy/sunshine
  • love on the journey
  • emotional scars

 

Courting the Country Preacher: What does traditional publishing look like to an Indie Author?

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Burlap background with pumpkins and leaves at side. Cover of Courting the Country Preacher. Text, "What does Traditional Publishing Look Like to an Indie Author? Guest post by Kari Trumbo, Petticoats & Pistols"

Hello everyone! It’s so good to be back in the stable temporarily. I’ve missed you all.

Karen asked me shortly after I stepped away if I wanted to blog at all in the coming year. At that time, I knew I had this release coming out (that’s one good thing about traditional publishing, I know WELL in advance of a release) that I had this book coming!

This is a book that I’d been talking about for a long time and finally, my friend Carolyn Miller contacted me and basically said, “let’s stop just talking about this and find two other authors to do it.” I had the time in my schedule (weird, I know) and I was excited.

It took a little while to find two other authors who also had time in their schedules (more normal people, lol) but then the discussion really started. We decided this would be historical and we like the idea and the tension of a bachelor country preacher finding love either by the push of his congregation, one member, or by the woman herself. It was really fun bouncing ideas around.

 

Coffee, laptop, and hand writing on paper with image of book cover by Kari Trumbo

 

Since I was the only author who hadn’t yet published with Barbour, I had to write my first chapter to submit with the proposal. So, not only did I have to write a one page synopsis of the story, I had to have a nearly perfect, compelling chapter one. I was worried that if my chapter didn’t do it, I could blow the whole project for everyone else.

It took six months to hear back from my agent that we had gotten the contract. In that time, I’d written four indie books. I could barely remember what I’d plotted. Thankfully, I kept good notes. Since I’m a fast writer, I wrote that 30,000 word story in four days (minus the first chapter, which was already done). Then, unlike when I indie, I let it sit. It wasn’t due back to the publisher for six months, so I wanted to return to it and not remember what I’d written when it came time for a read-through.

 

Hand with watch

 

A few months later, we got the mockup for the cover. I already knew that I wouldn’t really be all that involved in the cover creation process, but Barbour did allow us to make suggestions (the church in the background didn’t have a steeple at first). But it was so lovely, I had no real changes to suggest. I’ve been blessed to have two amazing covers for my traditional books.

 

Cover of Courting the Country Preacher by Kari Trumbo. Woman wearing tan dress from late 1800s and man wearing country hat with church in background

 

It was due in February, so in January, I opened the document and did some deep editing. I wanted it to shine for the editorial team so they would like me and hopefully take future work from me. In the end, my editor loved the story. One funny thing I wasn’t expecting was four rounds of edits in a week and a half. I expect that from indie, but I always expect traditional publishing to be slow. In my case, it was not. I was exhausted after those ten days.

I didn’t receive the galley copy (the final read through copy) for a few months after the editing stage. That was a wow moment for me because they do it differently from Harlequin. You literally get to see the fun fleuron (graphic separating a scene) and the chapter header images. Barbour did such a beautiful job. I was blown away.

I printed out my section, did my final read through and sent it back, knowing the next time I would see it would be when it came to me in a box of books from the publisher. As of writing this blog, I haven’t gotten my author copies yet.

I WISH I could describe to you what that is like. I’ve only experienced it with Harlequin. When that box is sitting there and you know what’s in it, something wells up inside you. It isn’t pride, it isn’t joy, it’s more pure than either of those. You’ve done something God asked you to do and in that box is the proof. I cried like a baby the first time I opened one of those boxes and I’m not too proud to say so.

By the time you read this (I wrote this in early September after seeing Karen, Winnie, and Mary at the ACFW conference in New Orleans) I should have my author copies of the book. I would LOVE to offer a signed copy to one commenter (in the US or Canada only, please) outside of those areas, I’ll buy an eBook copy for you and send that. I apologize in advance. I know that’s unfair.

Here is the back cover copy, so you’ll know if you want to enter:

Every Preacher Needs a Wife, Right?

Being a preacher in the countryside is not for the faint of heart nor faith. Four inexperienced preachers face a myriad of challenges including those who figure a man of the cloth needs a wife. Can they meet the expectations of “helpful” congregants and be true to their hearts?

The Mountie’s Rival by Angela K Couch
Canada, 1907 — Tired of living in his twin’s shadow, Jonathan Burton is frustrated to find himself serving as a still wet-behind-the-ears preacher in the same community as his Mountie brother. How is he to find a wife when all the eligible women of the community seem enamored by his dashing brother in scarlet uniform?

Convincing the Circuit Preacher by Carolyn Miller
Australia, 1863 — As soon as Dorothea Maclean saw the country preacher, she knew Mr. Hammill was the man of her dreams. Now she just needs to convince her wealthy parents—and Mr. Hammill.

The Angel and the Sky Pilot by Naomi Musch
Minnesota, 1905 — A preacher with a checkered past sets off to win souls in the lumber camps like the “sky pilots” before him. But can he earn the respect of hard-living men—and still respect himself—after a local trader’s daughter joins the all-male congregation?

Mail Order Minister by Kari Trumbo
South Dakota, 1889 — Olive’s parents mail-ordered a preacher and prayed he’d be a husband for their daughter. The rest of the town—and Olive—have other ideas.

Purchase Courting the Country Preacher

To enter the drawing, tell me what you love most about your preacher or minister.

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Kari Trumbo is an international bestselling author of historical and contemporary Christian romance and romantic suspense.

She loves reading, listening to contemporary Christian music, singing when no one’s listening, and curling up near the wood stove when winter hits.

She makes her home in central Minnesota—where the trees and lakes are plentiful—with her husband of over twenty years, two daughters, two sons, a few cats, and a bunny who’s the star of one of her books.

 

Playing Chess and Writing

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Hi everyone! Winnie Griggs here. I hope you all had a fabulous Independence day and took a moment amid your celebrations to give thanks for this wonderful country we live in.

As I’ve mentioned before, the first book in my new Sweetbrier Creek series, An Amish Christmas Match, will be coming out on Sept 24th. The hero, Seth Beiler, makes hand carved chess sets and chess actually plays a big part in the story. So today I thought it would be fun to do a post that’s a little bit different – I call it How Playing Chess Is Like Writing A Book

I do play chess, but it’s been years since I’ve actually played the game and I was a mid-level player at best. But I did enjoy the challenge and the need to think strategically, to try to see several moves ahead.

At first glance, chess and writing a book might seem worlds apart. However, both require strategic thinking, foresight, and creativity. Here are some comparisons to demonstrate that.

 

  1. Setting Up the Board

Before a game of chess begins, you set up the board, placing each piece in its starting position and you determine which player will go first.
Similarly, in writing, you begin by establishing your setting, introducing characters, and laying the groundwork for your plot. This initial setup is crucial for the story or game that will unfold. Even if you don’t actually plot out your stories, most non-plotters I know have some of this basic information figured out.

  1. The Opening Moves

The opening moves in chess are about establishing control and positioning pieces to your best advantage.
In writing, your opening chapters serve to hook the reader, introduce key elements, and set the tone. A strong beginning in both chess and writing is essential for success. Many writers (me included) will spend more time working and reworking the opening paragraphs of their story than on any other section of the book.

 

  1. Strategic Planning

Both chess and writing involve a great deal of planning. In chess, you must think several moves ahead, anticipating your opponent’s actions.
Similarly, in writing, you need to plot your story, consider character arcs, and foresee how different elements will interact and unfold. Some writers do all of this up front before they actually start writing, some figure it out as they go.

 

  1. Mid-Game Development

The middle game in chess is where the strategy deepens. You develop your pieces, control key areas, and set up potential combinations.
In writing, the middle of your book is where characters develop, subplots intertwine, and the main narrative gains momentum. This phase requires careful attention to detail and pacing. And for me personally, it’s where I always have to stop and take stock of where my story is headed and make any mid-course corrections if necessary.

 

  1. Facing Challenges

In both chess and writing, you’ll encounter challenges. In chess, you face tactical threats and must protect your king while seeking to capture your opponent’s pieces.
In writing, you might deal with writer’s block, plot holes, or character inconsistencies. Overcoming these obstacles is a critical part of the process.

  1. Sacrifices and Risks

Chess often involves sacrifices—giving up a piece to gain a strategic advantage.
Writing a book can also require sacrifices, such as cutting beloved scenes or characters for the greater good of the story. Taking calculated risks can lead to powerful, unexpected outcomes in both fields. But man oh man can it be painful!

 

  1. The Endgame

The endgame in chess is about converting your strategic advantage into victory. It’s a phase requiring precision and focus.
Similarly, the conclusion of a book is where all plot threads come together, and the narrative reaches its climax and resolution. A well-crafted endgame or conclusion is crucial for a satisfying outcome.

 

  1. Analyzing the Game

After a chess game, players often analyze their moves to understand what worked and what didn’t. Writers, too, review and revise their drafts, seeking to improve the story’s flow, coherence, and impact. This reflection is essential for growth and mastery in both chess and writing.

 

So, as you can see, whether maneuvering knights and bishops or crafting compelling characters and plotlines, both chess and writing require a blend of strategy, creativity, and adaptability.

Do you play chess?  Do you agree with the comparisons I came up with? Can you think of any others?

Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for your choice of any of my books

 

UPDATE: There is some kind of system glitch that keeps kicking me out when I try to reply to any comments or add a comment of my own. Rest assured that I am enjoying reading all the comments you are leaving and will respond to them as soon as we get this issue figured out

Fan Fiction Contest

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One of the characters in my latest book – If the Boot Fits – is a young boy with a vivid imagination. Fergus Ellis is the hero’s youngest brother, and he never goes anywhere without his pencil and tablet. He names the animals around the house and dreams up adventures for them that he jots down in his tablet. He has dubbed the family milk cow Mrs. Merriweather and has set her up as banyard maven. Throughout the novel different people (especially ther hero and heroine) introduce new animal characters into his story world and help him come up with adventures for them to experience.

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I had so much fun with Fergus in this story, and readers have clamored for a bonus story about Mrs. Merriweather and her barnyard friends as written by Fergus. I love the idea, but I just don’t have the time to write one myself. So why not turn it into a contest?

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Several years ago, I ran a fan fiction contest asking readers to write a romantic epilogue pairing Chloe and Duncan from To Win Her Heart. I received some fabulous entries, and the winning epilogue has been posted on my website as bonus material for the last twelve years. You can read it here: http://karenwitemeyer.com/epilogue-twhh.html

I decided to try that again with a Fergus story. If you have read If the Boot Fits and if you enjoy writing, I’d love to invite you to submit an entry. Fergus is a bright ten-year-old boy, so we will be looking for a children’s story. Here are the official details:

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RULES

  1. Write a children’s story about Mrs. Merriweather as if you were Fergus Ellis. (Bonus if you incorporate details Fergus was already considering in If the Boot Fits.)
  2. There are no word count parameters, but children’s stories are typically short, so I’d expect something between 1,000 – 2,000 words. If you go a little shorter or longer, that’s fine.
  3. DEADLINE: May 18, 2024
  4. Send your story to me as a Word doc attachment to this email address – karen@karenwitemeyer.com

PRIZES

  1. The winner’s story will be published on my website.
  2. The winner will receive two autographed books of their choice from titles I have in stock. (If the winner is international, we will come up with an alternative prize.)

 

I can’t wait to read these stories!

Once I have chosen the winning story, I will run an illustration contest as well so that we can add 2-3 images to the text. The illustrator who wins will receive the same prizes. This is going to be so fun!

Have you ever written a fan fiction story?

 

Karen’s Favorite Things – Bookish Socks!

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Writers are a quirky bunch. We talk to imaginary people, dream up ways to torture characters we claim to love, and have been known on occasion to show up to work in our pajamas. We all have different ways of getting into the writing zone, too. Some create playlists for each book they write to set the mood. Others load up on coffee and dark chocolate. Me? I put on bookish socks.

Fun socks make me happy and put me in a positive frame of mind as I sit down to write, and over the years I’ve amassed a pretty good collection of book-themed footwear.

Books and tea are always a favorite of mine. And I adore the cute little bookworms!

Jane Austen even makes an occasional appearance.

I thought I would personally foot-model my cowboy socks for you. (You’re welcome for not blinding you with the white legs above the sock line. Thank goodness for crop capability!)

I even have a pair of knee-highs, but I don’t wear these very often for writing sessions. Unless it’s really cold in my office.

Do you have any favorite “fun” socks you like to wear?

Anne Bronte: A Writer Ahead of Her Time

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Early women writers had to fight for their place in the literary world and that’s how it was for Anne Brontë who published under a male pseudonym.

No one can dispute that Anne Brontë (1820-1849) was a writer ahead of her time, even though she wasn’t as well-known as her sisters – Charlotte and Emily. She was born the last of seven children of Patrick and Maria Brontë. Her mother, Maria, died of tuberculosis when Anne was only one year old. Their first two children also died at age eleven with the same disease. Patrick encouraged his children’s imaginations and urged them to stretch their minds so it was no surprise that they all became poets, writers, and Branwell, his only son, a painter. Creativity ran high in all the children due to the early exposure to a multitude of literature pieces.

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne all attended Miss Wooler’s school in Roe Head, England then worked as governesses once they graduated. But all of them wrote poetry as a regular escape from work.

Anne Bronte sketched by her sister Charlotte in pencil. Permission granted by Wikipedia.

After much struggle of finding a publisher, Anne released her first book, Agnes Grey in 1847, the same year Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights made an appearance. But they were all published under male pseudonyms until 1850 after the deaths of Anne and Emily. Finally, Charlotte revealed their true identities.

Anne’s second book The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was published a year before her death and the subject matter of it as well as her first book made people uncomfortable. She shined a light on martial abuse, alcoholism, opium addiction, infidelity, class inequality, and the right of a woman to choose her own life. No one spoke of these things, they simply endured them. Her sisters Charlotte and Emily glossed over these subjects and tended to romanticize such issues of the day.

Anne died at twenty-nine years of age with two published books to her name and a body of poetry. Charlotte lived to age thirty-nine, the longest of all seven children. They all died of tuberculosis and it’s sad that their father outlived them all.

Of the sisters, Anne wanted to write the truth no matter how painful or that no one wanted to hear it. She felt she owed it to herself to expose the problems of the times and be truthful. That simply wasn’t done in her day. Literary scholars proclaimed her far ahead of her time and celebrate her books.

Here is what she wrote just days before her death: I have no horror of death: if I thought it inevitable I think I could quietly resign myself to the prospect … But I wish it would please God to spare me not only for Papa’s and Charlotte’s sakes, but because I long to do some good in the world before I leave it. I have many schemes in my head for future practise—humble and limited indeed—but still I should not like them all to come to nothing, and myself to have lived to so little purpose. But God’s will be done.

If you had lived back then, do you think you’d have read her books? I think I would’ve been curious. I loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights by her sisters.

A Writer in Her Natural Habitat

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What does a writer in her natural habitat look like? Well, I’m sure that each of us fillies has a different office space than the others. Some can work in busy coffee shops, others of us need ear plugs just to get a scene in. Some of us pace back and forth while we dictate our books, some write more than one book at a time. One of us (at least) even writes one book on computer while she writes another book on another device, switching back and forth. Some have to draft on paper, some feel that’s a waste, and go right to the computer.

Authors are strange creatures, even at our best moments.

Some of us plot out our stories, some of us write into the darkness. Some of us struggle for a few hundred words a day, others consider a few thousand words ‘not enough’. The great majority of us aren’t satisfied with our ‘normal’ and wish we were like someone else.

It goes without saying that we spend a lot of time in our own heads. That can be good and bad. We’ll remember scents and feelings from long ago experiences, but forget what day it is. We’ll remember the exact flavor of a slice of pie we ate fifteen years ago, but can’t remember what we ate yesterday.

You can tell when we’re struggling with a story (or are between stories) because our desks are clean. The great majority of us our introverted, but we love extroverts. We also love author get-togethers.

Here is a little glimpse at my natural habitat, though I am not in this photo.

I love my desk, but I wish I had more storage. I have an entire bookcase of research books that I would love to have closer to me, but at least I have a corner that’s mine. I know not everyone is that fortunate.

It’s nice and clean in this picture, but don’t let that fool you. It’s not that way right now. It’s covered in research materials, bills, water cups, pens (I somehow have a million), notebooks, and my planner which is always on the corner of my desk and FULL.

Even though we have a lot of things in common, I really think the only thing that every author does, is write.

Believe it or not, I’ve even met a few authors who don’t enjoy reading all that much. You’d think that would be universal, but it’s not.

Some of us love marketing our books, but most of us didn’t become authors for that part. In fact, many of us would much rather do the work of writing, editing, compiling, and loading the book onto retailers…and then pray people find it so we don’t have to market.

I’ve met a lot of authors who secretly (and maybe not so secretly) feel this way:

Forgive the language, but that is how many of us feel. Sometimes, even talking about what we write feels like sales, so we don’t do it. Talking to friends can feel awkward. Do they really want to know about writing, or am I an oddity (Don’t answer that)?

Here’s what a typical day looks like for me. I’d bet you’ll be surprised at how…boring…my life is.

I get up, make my coffee and read my daily Bible reading. This is the only quiet time I will get all day. It’s summer, so I have all three children home (one of mine has flown the nest already). Once they are all up, the house will be loud even after I go to bed.

Once I finish my coffee, I move back to my bedroom. My office is currently in a corner of my bedroom. I’d like my own space, but that’s still a someday dream. I have a part-time job where I manage ads for people. I do that 3-4 hours every day, Mon-Fri. When I finish that, I need to mentally switch gears. I’ll often take a quarter-mile walk to clear my mind.

After that, I hit Facebook, this blog, and my ads to see how things are doing. I’ll respond to emails, or write my newsletter if its Friday. Admin tasks can take as little as twenty minutes, but sometimes as long as a couple hours. I’ve been trying to get more admin tasks done than I did before. I used to write for literally six hours a day.

After I finish that, I’m ready for my creative work. I will turn on Youtube and listen to water sounds so that I don’t hear what’s going on in my house around me. Crashing, cats, and video games don’t help me get in the zone to write a book based in 1890.

Often, I will log on to Discord with other authors and sprint to make the most of my time. If you’ve been keeping track, I may not actually get to writing until late afternoon, so I have to make the most of the hours that I have. When I’m editing, I’ll use this time for edits instead of writing.

And that’s how we write books. What is one thing you’d like to know about the life of an author? And maybe some of my fellow fillies would love to answer any questions, too.

A New Book, A New Lesson

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I’m excited for Aiming for His Heart to be released on June 30th. Writing this book, the tenth story in our Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, challenged me in many ways. First, at 40,000 words, it’s the shortest story I’ve written. I hear those who know me well laughing because you know I can’t say hello in less than fifty words. 🙂  In my first writing classes, the instructor asked if I was taking her class on writing tighter. To my I hadn’t decided answer, she responded that I needed to. Despite hard work on that, I struggled 60,000 word Harlequin novels within the overage allowance.

I also had less time to write this story. When I start a book, I count on two things happening. I’ll start in the wrong place, either too far into the story or too far . I’ll take wrong turns. Sure enough. Both happened with Aiming for His Heart. In fact, the wrong turns were so disastrous I pretty much started over once. Maybe twice. While I was proud of writing in the shorter time frame, as a tortoise writing (unlike many of my amazing rabbit speed writing filly sisters), doing so took its toll.

However, the main challenge came from my heroine, Jade. Boy did she and I get into a battle of wills. Okay. I hear you laughing again. Yes, I know I can be stubborn, too. ? Our trouble started during brainstorming. My story ideas almost always start with the hero. In fact, only one hasn’t. But in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series the heroine receives the pink-handled pistol which plays a key part in the story. This meant the story needed to begin with Jade. Until I learned her backstory, her personality, and what she wanted, I couldn’t move forward. And blast the woman, she wouldn’t let me into her head.

I knew Jade’s mother died when Jade was ten. From then until she went attended college, Jade spent summers and school vacations with her maternal aunt in Oklahoma. There Jade found the love and acceptance she often didn’t receive from her workaholic, distant father and his new family. Jade revealed her past to me, but after that, she shut down. All she revealed was she was returning to Oklahoma to settle her aunt’s estate.

Anyone who’s taken on that task knows how emotionally and physically exhausting it is. Despite putting Jade in stressful situations, she remained distant, almost emotionless. Thankfully, while talking to my dear friend and critique partner, Nancy Haddock, I realized Jade acted that way because she didn’t want to feel anything. She didn’t want to let anyone in. I finally had my key to her character. Jade feared if she felt anything, especially grief, she’d fall apart and never recover. She viewed her emotions as the enemy because when she lost control of them, chaos and disaster followed.

Being a sinister author, I had to break her. But as often happens in my stories, in busting through my character’s defenses and forcing them to face their issues, I make a discovery of my own. I learned I had been at war with my emotions lately. Because I had been feeling too much for lack of better words, I didn’t want to feel anything and had shut down in some ways, too. Forcing Jade to deal with her emotions forced me to grow and deal with mine, too. I guess, not only do I write what I know, sometimes I write about what I need to learn.

GIVEAWAY:  To be entered in my random drawing for cactus tote leave a comment about a challenge that made you grow and what you learned or what new skill you acquired.