This week’s Romance Writer’s Weekly topic is both super easy and super hard. Create a bucket list of the places you want to visit, the new experiences you want to try, or the goals you want to achieve before reaching a certain age or before you kick the bucket. The easy part is there are so many. The hard part is where to start! Therefore, in no particular order, here are ten things on my Bucket List (though you can assume there are many, many more!)
Obviously travelling is high on my list and experiences slightly lower. But as I said, there are so MANY things I want to do I couldn’t list them all, and these are just the ones that were top of mind this morning. How about you? What’s on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below, then hop over to Leslie Hachtel for the next stop on the RWW Blog Hop. My next release will be featured in the anthology A SEASON FOR LOVE featuring contemporary romances with characters in their forties, fifties, and beyond. Pre Order now to have it arrive on your e-reader March 1.
Check out Leslie's romantic suspense, Murder Most Notorious. A beautiful homicide detective and a sexy cold case guy have to team up to find a vicious axe-wielding killer. Brutal murders have shocked the city and all the evidence points to a twin sister once thought dead. So many twists and turns in this action packed romantic thriller. And so much passion! Get it now!
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Last week we looked ahead at what a shiny new year might bring. This week we’re looking back. Our topic is: How did you get to where you are today? Share the story of your professional journey, the roadblocks you encountered along the way, and your strategy for overcoming those obstacles. When I first read this challenge, I was a little deflated. To me, it was directed at someone who had already achieved their goals, had already become a success (as defined by them, not others). But upon reflection, I realized it is also directed at someone like me who is still on the journey. I have what I think is a reasonable goal for my writing career – that each book I publish pays for its own hard costs within a month of release. It is a little disheartening to admit I haven’t achieved that yet. But when I look at where I started, I can see how much I have achieved, and that dollars aren’t the only gauge of success. I’d always wanted to write a book. I was 44 years old when my first romance was released…and now I have 10 published books with 3 waiting in the wings. That is definitely a win! It's amazing what writing 500 words a day can do! I have made wonderful author friends along the way, authors who are generous with their time and talent and advice. I’m not in this crazy business alone. I have learned craft and studied structure and discovered that writing is as much an art as it is a skill. And from day one I’ve had the support of my family. My children tell their friends their mom is a writer, which makes my heart burst. My parents read every single book. My husband bought me my first laptop, reads early drafts of each of my stories, and is a constant source of encouragement. I have cousins and in-laws and friends who read my stories and tell me how much they like them (admittedly, sometimes with surprise in their tone, but I’m okay with that LOL!) I don’t think I’ve experienced any true roadblocks on my journey. I’ve certainly taken detours and occasionally had to backtrack and try again, but I don’t consider those events roadblocks. They are just part of the journey, like take a shortcut that ends up in a totally different place than you’d expect. My strategy from the start has been simple: Write the best book I can. Publish it. Repeat. I’m still enjoying the journey. And I’m so glad you’ve come along for the ride. Be sure to hop over to A.S. Fenichel to learn more of her story. I am thrilled to be included in this upcoming box set. A SEASON FOR LOVE is available to pre order now! Sometimes forever begins after forty. A collection of fiery and passionate contemporary romances featuring characters in their 40’s, 50’s and beyond. These authors don’t close the bedroom door on the good stuff, so be prepared to get hot and bothered in the best of ways. After all, lust has no age limit! From billionaires and alpha military heroes to nerds and single dads, this limited-edition collection of sensual and sexy stories will keep you up all night and daydreaming all day! The one thing they have in common? They’re about to discover it’s never too late to fall in love. Including Stories from: USA Today bestselling authors Stephanie Morris, Phoebe Alexander, Krista Ames, Debra Elise, Dawn Brower, Melonie Johnson As well as: Simone Leigh, Jami Denise, PE Kavanagh, Judy Kentrus, Karen Nappa, Brenda Margriet, Shai August, Lisa Wood, Jordan Elizabeth, PG Forte Jennie Kew, Allyson R Abbott, Mellanie Szereto Congratulations, A.S. Fenichel! Today is VENGEANCE release day! The final book of the Demon Hunter series if finally here. The demon master is out for revenge, and the gates of hell are flung wide. Only the purest love can force him back… After a debilitating injury leaves Brice Lambert in agony, he's relegated to teaching others to hunt demons. He knows all the secrets of the demon war and plans to die for the cause. Never did he expect his dreams of a loving wife and big family to come true, but the very witch who healed his leg is capturing his heart. Abigail Higginbotham's extraordinary power elicits fear and mistrust from the very people who should love her. Instead, they shuffled her around, depriving her of family and coven alike. Joining the Company of demon hunters brings her the closest thing to a family she has ever had. Forbidden to love, she risks losing everything for the man who has loved her for many lifetimes. Together, they must find the key to seal the gates of Hell and lock out the demon master forever. Fail, and mankind is doomed. Succeed, and face death in the pit of Hell. A small price to pay for eternal love. Get it now! Welcome to 2022 and a brand-new year on the RWW Blog Hop. As is traditional, we start the new year with this topic, assigned by Andie Fenichel: Happy New Year! Do you have big plans for 2022? Did you make any resolutions, set goals, or map out a schedule? Tell us all about it. Oh, I have plans all right. 😊 But if the last two years have taught me anything, it’s that plans are merely guidelines, and you have to be flexible. Also, I’m a realist - some may say cynic. I understand with my heart how setting a goal is the first step to achieving it, but my brain has a nasty habit of whispering all my plans will end in failure. Which is why I tend to set small, achievable goals like daily word counts, number of promos joined, social media posts made. Asserting “I’m going to make the New York Times Bestsellers List” just seems like setting myself up for crushing disappointment. That being said, big goals are always in the back of my mind, and all the little goals I set are hopefully leading to that achievement. I just don’t spend all my time staring at the huge, shiny star all the time, preferring to concentrate on the sun peaking out from the clouds as I journey along the road. What about you? What are your dreams for 2022? Comment below, then continue your hop with Caro Kinkead! Caro is celebrating the book birthday of ACCIDENTAL VISCOUNTESS - it is on sale for a limited time! Miss Dorothea Hindley counts herself lucky, as helping with her cousin’s launch into society allows her to enjoy the Season, if only from the sidelines. The re-emergence of an old feud, though, has her managing the damage. She realizes only one person can help lower the temperature. Viscount Abernathy finds himself as eager as Dorothea to end the gossip surrounding the quarrel. Together, they navigate the treacherous waters of London’s Ton, but they become interested in more than solving their mutual dilemma. Being caught in a compromising position was not part of the plan. The families present a united front, but the fires still rage below the surface. Will the truce brokered by Dorothea and Abernathy’s wedding hold? Or flare to life once more, destroying their chance of happiness? Discover contemporary romance books that bring the heat while keeping the sweet!
Includes my own ALLEGRO COURT (Free on all platforms)! Click here to see the entire collection. This week on the Blog Hop, we’re talking about dreams. Leslie Hachtel says: Tell us what you dream about. So, there’s a couple ways of taking this question! I dream about making the bestsellers lists and spending time with the family that doesn’t involve social distancing (we’re almost there!!). But when it comes to sleeping dreams, that’s a different story. My dreams can be very vivid. They are usually in colour and sometimes even involve physical sensations like touch. Thank goodness I don’t have nightmares – not often, anyway – although I remember one that I had when I was a child where I was going to go over a waterfall and woke up just before I fell off the bed! Most of my dreams seem to involve not being able to accomplish things. I’ll need a key to unlock a door, and when I open the drawer to get it, it’s not there. Then, when I finally find the key, the door isn’t there anymore. In the days when we travelled more often, I often dreamt about missing our flight or ending up at the wrong hotel. Now that I think of it, I rarely dream pleasant, relaxing things. Huh. I wonder why that is? How about you? What do you dream! The next stop in our blog hop is here with Leslie Hachtel! Looking for your next perfect beach or backyard read? Check out these more than 50 romances meant to be read in the summer sunshine! Click here for a full list Leslie's newest book is now available from Amazon! Two women. Years apart. Linked by common experience and a cottage that has survived since the Civil War. Evelyn Smith has changed her name and is running from an abusive husband. She buys a cottage in Florida that has its own history, only to experience an attraction to the previous owner. Rebecca Faber has rescued a Yankee soldier and fallen in love, but circumstances have forced her to marry an evil man who killed her father. When Rebecca reaches out from the past, Evelyn finds it life changing. And in their own times, each must find discover strength and fight to find and keep true love. My next release is a project especially close to my heart. I stumbled upon the idea for the story quite by accident, and everything fell into place after that. To be completely honest, it was the easiest book I've ever written - and early readers think it might be my best so far. Here's what AFTER WORDS is all about:
As we get closer to launch date, I'll be sharing more stories about Leeza (she loves to bake), Gavin (still waters run deep in this one) and more. To be part of all that, be sure to join my newsletter. You will immediately get a free short story, just for subscribing. I hope I'll see you around!
Inspiration comes in many forms. It can be something as small as a snippet of conversation overheard in a coffee shop, or as life changing as the first person that believes in your talent. This week on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop, A.S. Fenichel asks: What inspires you? Do you or did you have a mentor, parent or friend who you credit with making you the person you are today? It doesn’t have to be a person: Music, Art.... In the largest, most general sense, my inspiration as an author has come from the many, many, MANY authors I read as a child—even those whose names I can no longer remember. The simple fact that someone in a city or country far away—or even on a day long before I was born—wrote words that I was reading seemed a miracle to me (and still often does). I wanted to have that connection with a reader, too. When it comes to what stories I write, I am mostly inspired by everyday life and the people around me. I firmly believe there is someone for everyone—those people that seem unlikeable for some (usually superficial) reason, and those who, if you could get them to admit it, believe they are unlovable for some real or imagined issue. I want to give those people the happy endings we all deserve! As a person, I wouldn’t be who I am today without the love and support of my husband. He is always the first to read my books and will talk about his “author wife” given the slightest encouragement. I can’t say I would have given up on this publishing journey without his faith in me, but he certainly has made it a much more enjoyable ride. I encourage you to hop over to Caro Kinkead and see what or who she credits as her inspiration.
Last week, my part of the world was locked in a deep freeze. Wednesday morning we woke up to -42C (-40C and -40F are the same temperature if that helps any). Is it any wonder my thoughts turned to travel? This week on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop, I set this topic: Do you like to travel? If so, do you have a favourite place? Also - do you incorporate places you’ve visited into your novels? I love to travel, and have been lucky enough to go to some amazing places. Not only have I seen a lot of the wonders my beautiful province of British Columbia offers, but I’ve been to New York City, San Francisco, Mexico, France, Belgium, and England. I’ve also been to Portugal – not the mainland, but the islands of the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic (more on that later). And there are still so many places to see! One of my bucket list dreams is to spend at least three months living in a foreign country. I want the experience of actually living in a place – not just seeing all the tourist sites (which are wonderful, don’t get me wrong) but feeling like part of the community. When we travel, I like to read books that are set in the place we are visiting. London was amazing for this. I love Regency romances, and to be able to walk in Hyde Park and down Piccadilly Street, just like those heroines would have done (if they were real 😉) brings a deeper understanding of the stories. One of the reasons I decided to use my hometown of Prince George as the main setting for most of my own novels ties in with that thought. I figured if I liked to read about other places, other people do, too. And since Prince George is an "other place" to most readers, why go to the bother of coming up with an imaginary location when I could give readers a glimpse of the beauty surrounding me every day?
The only book I’ve written that ties in with a place I’ve travelled to (so far) is NO LIFE BUT THIS. My husband’s family is from the Azores, and in 2013 we decided to travel there with his parents, siblings and our children. Even before we left, I’d started NLBT, as I knew I wanted to write a story with a heroine who jumps out of her comfort zone in one big leap. While we were there, I soaked in as much of the sights and sounds as I could, then used them to colour my story. It is still one of my favourite books. What about you? Do you like to travel or are you more of a homebody? Let me know in the comments, then hop over to Clair Brett to see how she uses travel in her stories! Welcome to 2020, and another year of the Romance Weekly Blog Hop. This week, Elizabeth Schechter rather creatively asks: “New Year, Who Dis?” Obviously, she wants to know about our New Year’s plans and resolutions LOL! If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome! I’m not a big believer in New Year’s resolutions, or, to be honest, in any kind of goal setting. Most of my life I worked in a job that had firmly defined deadlines, so I am more used to working to a specific date than an overarching result. That’s going to change this year. As of January 1, 2020, I am no longer working for anyone else – I am working for me. I’m focusing on my writing and trying to make this author gig pay for itself – and maybe a few other bills, too! Here are a few of my goals and intentions (not resolutions) for this year:
I signed my first contract with a publisher in February 2012. Since then I’ve released seven books, which, considering I also had a full-time job and a busy family, I am very proud of. But those two things have also been excuses (reasonable ones, of course, but still excuses) for not doing more with my writing career. Well, now that all my children are grown and I no longer have another job, there are no excuses. 2020 is my year to see if I can do this thing I love and make it pay. What about you? Do you have big goals this year? Let me know below (I'll be sure to reply to your comment). Then hop over to AJ Andersen Author and see what plans she has for 2020! Mountain Fire is 99 cents for a limited time! Later this month, Mountain Fire is moving to Kindle Unlimited. Right now, it is available for just 99 cents at all retailers. After January 15, it will no longer be available anywhere except Amazon, so if you haven't picked up your copy yet now is a great time to do so. You can read an excerpt here, or all buylinks are here. This was my first ever published book. When I re-published it in 2017, I added scenes and made a few minor revisions. I hope you enjoy it! This is our last Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop of 2019. We’ll be taking the next couple of weeks off and then get back at it in the new year. This week, Leslie Hachtel asks: What do you really want for Christmas? It seems very selfish to want anything for myself this Christmas. I have a wonderful family, good health, and financial security. Really, what more can I ask for? On the other hand, wishing for a perfect world seems so naïve. Peace in the world, no hungry children, and equality for all are awesome goals, but only actions will get us there, not wishes. That being said, all great achievements start with small steps. So this Christmas, I’m wishing for patience (to deal with the normal frustrations of life gracefully), generosity (to help those who need it quietly and sincerely), and understanding (to take each person as they are). And to become a New York Times bestselling author. 😊 Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Now hop over to A.S. Fenichel to see what she really wants for Christmas. This week on Romance Writers Weekly, Leslie Hachtel asks: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? This is a really tough one for me. Mr. C and I love to travel, and we’ve been lucky enough to go to some amazing places already – many in our own backyard (check out my latest travel pics here on my Facebook Page). So I’m taking Leslie’s challenge from this angle – if this was the last trip I would ever be able to take, where would I go? To be fair, she said “travel anywhere in the world,” which does imply one place, but I’m going to cheat a little. How about I pick just one country? In that case, my choice is a three-month drive across Canada. Do you think that is breaking the rules? I hope not! My country is so huge you can barely scratch the surface in three-months. But it would give us time to get all the way across, ocean to ocean. My dad’s family is from Nova Scotia, and I’ve never been there, so would like to visit that area for sure. And it wouldn’t be complete without a stop in Prince Edward Island, the home of the red-headed girl, Anne Shirley. Then there’s Quebec City, Canada’s oldest, Ottawa, our capital, and so many others. Where is your dream vacation? Do you prefer a hot, sunny beach or upbeat, urban streets? I’d love to hear from you! Then be sure to hop on over to Jenna Da Sie and see what she chose! |