Change is Scary, but Good

 

I have always had a rule I teach and that we practice in my critique group: Don’t ever budge on that one element that excited you about a story in the first place. That spark that inspired you to write the story is what will carry you through the middle and to the end. Not all books are easy, even when you love your subject matter and characters, but books are double down hard to write if you lose the joy.

As writers, we do our best, but the lack of joy eventually shows in our work, our health, our personal lives. I had been under contract for over twenty-five years, writing two or three books a year, and everyone knows a career isn’t a writer’s only responsibility. Most of us have spouses, children, grandchildren and parents. I realized I needed a change.

By fate or a stroke of luck or God’s timing, whichever your belief, a line closed and I didn’t have an option book. I’d been in that place before and it had felt scary. This time it felt good. Like someone had taken an 800-pound boulder off my shoulders. And in this timing of events, I also had a new grandchild due.

To my daughter’s immense relief, I told her I’d care for the baby for the first year. I had a few weeks to decompress and prepare, and then the baby came. I had forgotten how exhausting it is to take care of an infant, but it was a good exhaustion, and I enjoyed every minute of it. After the baby was a year old, my daughter had a neck surgery, and I cared for both of them at their house every day, so this hiatus stretched into about sixteen months. During that time, I eventually missed writing. I got ideas. The desire was there to tell stories, but I knew I didn’t want to go back to where I’d been before. I wanted to write, but I didn’t want to experience the pressure of deadlines.

I made a decision to only write books that I love from that moment on. And to do it in a manner at and a pace that I set for myself. Choosing to make a change was a huge step. Indie authors don’t have the distribution advantages of traditional publishers. They don’t get advances. They do all the work. But they can choose to do the writing and marketing at a pace that’s comfortable for them, and there’s a lot to be said for comfortable.

Western Romance eBook on Sale for $1.99 - Prairie Wife

No mother should have to bury her child

Amy Shelby had learned this sorrow well. Her heart had gone into the ground a year ago along with her boy's tiny casket. And not even her husband, Jesse, wrestling the same pain, could resurrect any hope in her.

Jesse Shelby mourned two losses—his baby son and his openhearted bride, for when their child died, Amy retreated behind a wall of grief as wide as the Nebraska prairie. But could a chance for a new family heal their wounded marriage—and guide them back to the comfort of each other's arms?

KINDLE eBOOK ON SALE FOR $1.99

March Madness: Maybe I'm the One

 Maybe I’m the One

Nashville fans will enjoy this story of a beloved country singer who returns to her roots and encounters the cowboy whose song she unknowingly stole.

Audrey Knox sacrificed to make a successful career in Nashville, but the bigger her star shines, the smaller her world has become. After an eye--opening incident on tour, she wants her daughter to experience small-town life as she knew it, so she takes a break from touring to reconnect with her roots and introduce the eight-year-old to life on Big Pines Ranch. Facing the past might be her biggest challenge yet.

Jericho Tanner has loved Audrey since they were children on adjoining ranches, their families entwined. He fills the void of intimacy, love and belonging with ranch work and his deputy position in Rockwell County, with aspirations of taking over as sheriff. Emotional vulnerability is frightening, and his walls are sturdy and tall. When Audrey and her young daughter show up in Spencer, he’s forced to see his wounds in a new light.

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USA Today bestseller Cheryl St.John writes historical and contemporary novels. Her stories have earned numerous awards and are published in over a dozen languages. One thing all reviewers and readers agree on regarding Cheryl’s work is the degree of emotion and believability. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real-life situations.”

March Madness Sale - Dancing in the Dark (Aspen Gold Series)

 Dancing in the Dark, Cheryl St.John

 

He’d had his own baby. Without her.

Dusty Cavanaugh has loved Kendra Price since she walked into the school cafeteria and captured a dozen boyish hearts with the sweep of her stormy gray-green gaze and the lift of her chin. College, marriage, and children had been the plan. But then Dusty made a mistake.

Kendra Price had never wanted to be rich, but she’d wanted to be comfortable, which she was. She’d never wanted to be famous, but to live her passion to the fullest and dance, which she had. She’d wanted to marry Dusty, have babies and live happily ever after. All she had left was dance.

 

Sweet romance by a USA Today bestselling author

BUY LINK: CLICK HERE

 

MARCH MADNESS

All 21 books in this series are on sale for 99c throughout March.

Fans of Robyn Carr's Virgin River Series will enjoy this multi-author series set in the fictional tourist town of Spencer, Colorado.