A New Brand of Joy! Ruth Logan Herne

This has got to be one of the easiest blog topics I’ve ever explored.

What is it about writing that brings me joy???

The answer, so easy….

This:

Lisa, Taylor and McKenna Tydings 

This is my friend Lisa, a mother of four who was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer at age 36… Taking that walk with Lisa, caring for her beautiful children, seeing her wage a courageous and valiant battle… 

Cupcake breast cancer "ribbon"... 

Then allowing me to chronicle her struggles in “The Lawman’s Second Chance”…

 

That’s joy. Not joy because Lisa got sick, but amazing joy in sharing her story, her struggle, her victory and the wonderful outpouring of love from her family, her friends, her church, her co-workers. To show how folks come together to help, heal, and hug.

This is our group of daycare moms who helped Lisa's daughter Taylor organize a "Fight Like a Girl" Pink Party... Notice that the only person not wearing pink is Lisa! 

And then there’s this:

 

My beautiful and somewhat stolen granddaughter, Mary Ruth…. She's stolen because she's really my grand-niece BUT I kind of stole her mother from my sister years ago and I think then I get the kid by default. And hey, they NAMED HER AFTER ME... That's gotta hold a little bit of water, right? :)

Mary Ruth was our miracle baby, an in vitro pregnancy that brought us this beautiful, funny, endearing little girl who loves to tell stories, who uses her magic frozen powers to create huge frosty castles and rainbow rooms. I mean, you just can’t beat that, magic kids are not a dime-a-dozen!  J A frozen castle and rainbow rooms? Pshaw. How blessed am I?

And I turned her birth into this beautiful new 4 Star release:

 Just released, "Loving the Lawman" shows the intricacies of choice and the serious ramifications of our decisions, while winding you along the path of second chance love... and TWIN BABIES!!!!  How cute are they????  Seriously, just sitting and looking at this cover gives me joy... it's that stinkin' cute.

I'm a hearth-and-home writer, an author who loves happy endings, a woman who sees the amazing opportunities life offers and believes we all need to push through the tough times and grab hold... both hands!!!... of the joy God provides. 

A baby's smile... an unexpected child.... the first daffodils of spring... a morning sky, an evening star. When we find the joy in the little things of life, we carry it through those big moments of mixed emotion.

Whenever I start a new story, I aim for the "joy" of the morning, an inspired solution that mends old wrongs and offers new hope. I want that reader feeling the rise and fall of pure emotion, and ending that roller coaster ride with joy.

God's love, His blessings, among us!

 Ruth Logan Herne is a "hearth-and-home" writer who loves God, her family, her country, dogs, horses, cats and flowers. She lives in upstate New York where it has been winter for a Very Long Time and she's welcoming spring, big time! She exploits small children and fuzzy pets to sell sweet books, and feels very little guilt about it! You can find her at ruthloganherne.com, hanging with her Seeker buddies in "Seekerville" or cooking with a cast of other fun authors at the Yankee Belle Cafe! 

Ruth is giving away three copies of Loving the Lawman to readers who leave a comment HERE on this blog. Leave a comment and be entered to win!

Writing Joy: Nan Reinhardt

The great Irish poet/playwright Seamus Heaney once said, “I've always associated the moment of writing with a moment of lift, of joy, of unexpected reward.” Being Irish myself—nearly 100 percent if family lore is correct—and a writer, I know Heaney’s feeling. My joy is complete when I’m writing. Stories are one of my greatest delights, and nothing makes me happier or more full of joy than sitting down to work on a new story or finishing one that been in the works for a while.

 
As it happens, I’m also a professional editor and as I work on other writer’s manuscripts, I often wonder if they found as much joy in the writing as I do. I hope so. I’m not a slash-and-burn kind of editor because crazy as it sound, if I over-edit, it feels like stealing an author’s joy. So when I edit, I try to remember the enjoyment I get from writing and how I’d feel if someone took my story apart, ignored my voice, and destroyed my hard work.

 

Like most writers, I’m always writing, even when I’m not sitting at my computer. I write when I drive, when I grocery shop, when I sort the laundry, when I swim laps at the gym, when I wash dishes or run the vacuum. I confess, I even write when I’m at lunch with friends or at meetings where I’m supposed to be focused on other things. Writers can’t turn off the creative urge, and for me, and probably for most writers, everything, everyone, every place and every event is novel fodder.

But the real joy comes in the actual writing, the tapping of the keys on the laptop or the scratch of pen on paper if I happen to be writing longhand, as sometimes happens. The words form, the characters speak, and as each new scene develops, the pleasure of the creating makes my heart sing. When I finish a book, I’m overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and even a little bit of awe. There’s more than a sense of personal satisfaction, it’s as Seamus Heaney said, a moment of reward and inexpressible joy.

Nan Reinhardt is a writer of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is also a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She’s been an antiques dealer, a bank teller, a stay-at-home mom, a secretary, and for the last 17 years, she’s earned her living as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader.

But writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!) and a member of Herman’s Hermits. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! She’s still writing romance, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, menopausal woman who believes that love never ages, women only grow more interesting, and everybody needs a little sexy romance.

Visit Nan’s website at www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully…mostly.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt

Twitter: @NanReinhardt

Talk to Nan at: nan@nanreinhardt.com

Winner of Sparkle Abbey's Drawing.....

Sparkle Abbey drew a name for their prize drawing....



Lizzie Starr is the winner of Sparkle Abbey's drawing for a special box of chocolates!
Whoo hoo, Lizzie! Enjoy.

Find The Joy: Galations 5:22,23

Joy in the Journey: Sparkle Abbey

We are thrilled to be a part of Cheryl St.John’s Month of Joy. It was a request with perfect timing as we’d just had a discussion about remembering to have joy in the journey. You see, often when you start a trip you have plans. You make preparations, you map out where you’re going, and then you set out. If you’re lucky, you have some adventures along the way.

After many years of writing (and rejections) in 2011 we signed a contract with Bell Bridge Books for the first four books in the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. (The series features two amateur sleuths, Caro, a pet therapist, and Melinda, a pet boutique owner. They are great fun to write and that’s a joy in itself, but more about that later.)

Now, three years later, we’d have to say it’s been an incredible journey but, that said, not exactly a cruise down the freeway. Perhaps more of a two-lane highway with unplanned detours and side trips. And sometimes hairpin turns. There’s an awful lot that can happen on a journey.

Last year on our way from Iowa to a mystery conference in Bethesda, Maryland we, uhmm, sort of missed a turn and ended up in Michigan. Yes, you’re remembering your geography correctly. Michigan is not on the way from Iowa to Maryland. No problem. We stopped, took a look at the map, and planned how we’d reroute. Done. Off we went down a two-lane road that would get us back on track. It was a beautiful drive with rolling hills, trees, and meandering rivers. And, what was that up ahead? A sign for The Chocolate Garden. The sign promised “extraordinary handmade truffles.” In fact, their chocolate truffles had been featured on The Food Network, Fine Living, and the Travel Channel.

Of course, we stopped. We did a chocolate tasting, chatted with the people, and bought some truffles for the road. What a great detour! And, isn’t life like that? If you bemoan the mistakes, the detours, and the oops-we’re-in-Michigan-moments, you may miss the chocolate.

For us, the whole journey from that first contract has had twists, turns and surprises. We’ve gone from that beginning to: signing with an agent, being a #1 mystery series on Amazon, #1 bestseller on Nook, and recently signing a contract for books seven and eight. So. Amazing.

But we both have full-time jobs. We’re also wives, moms, and grandmothers and you’d better believe we don’t want to miss out on a minute of those blessings. So that means we are really busy. Really, really busy. Did we mention that we’re busy? Some weeks are a just a blur.

But if you’re too caught up in the blur you miss the joy. You have to take the time to stop and enjoy the journey.  We are extremely thankful for the opportunity to continue to write books that we love. We need to remember to take the time to savor that joy. We recently got an email from a reader who shared that one our books had lifted her up on a particularly low day.  Wow, what a compliment. In fact, for us that’s the ultimate compliment. A joy we should take the time to celebrate.

We get reader emails from around the country as well as Canada, Brazil, and the UK. We so appreciate that readers take the time to write to us, review our books, and tell us they are waiting for the next one. We can’t even begin to tell you how cool that is. But in the on-to-the-next-thing day to day rush, we need to remind ourselves to stop, take a deep breath, and say, “Wow,”

We’ve had the opportunity through our co-writing to talk with several other writing duos. Among them: Waverly Curtis (friends Waverly Fitzgerald and Curt Colbert), Charles Todd (mother and son, Caroline and Charles Todd) and Murder She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher/Donald Bain (husband and wife, Don Bain and Renee Paley-Bain), as well as Lee Goldberg from the Monk books who has also penned a series with Janet Evanovich. In fact, Don and Renee’s cat, Maggie, provided a cover quote for our next book, Fifty Shades of Greyhound. How fun is that? All of these writers are not only talented, they’re charming and generous. It would be a shame to let these experiences get lost in the whirlwind and not pause for a few minutes to really take in the sheer fun that’s been.

Regardless of whether you’re a reader or a fellow writer, we’ll bet there are times you have one thing planned and then, oops, there are detours or unplanned stops. Or maybe times when your life is so busy that you forget to enjoy all the blessings along the way. It’s so very important to remember not get caught up in blur and miss out on the joy. Much like our unplanned visit to Michigan, the road trip of life often has something fabulous for you just around that next turn. 

Here’s our advice on finding joy in the journey: Stop and taste the chocolate!

The Authors:
Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets - Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). They write the popular pet mystery series with whodunits set in the wacky world of pampered pets, precious pedigrees, and secrets. The books feature cousins and former Texas beauty queens, Caro Lamont and Melinda Langston. Desperate Housedogs, an Amazon #1 Mystery Series bestseller and Barnes & Noble Nook #1 bestseller, was followed by Get Fluffy, Kitty, Kitty, Bang, Bang, and Yip/Tuck. Fifty Shades of Greyhound is up next.

Coming soon!
Fifty Shades of Greyhound
“Catnip for mystery fans.”
~ Maggie, the cat of USA Today best-selling author, Donald Bain (Murder, She Wrote Series)

“Gives roll over and play dead a whole new meaning!”
~ Ethel Merman & Ella Fitzgerald, canine companions to award-winning author Holly Jacobs (Maid in LA mystery series)

It was a killer party.
Caro Lamont, Laguna Beach’s favorite pet therapist is thrilled to support the elite fundraising gala for Greys Matter, a SoCal greyhound rescue group. All the guests in the couture-attired crowd are clad in varying shades of grey, the champagne and donations are flowing, and there are fifty gorgeous greyhounds in attendance. But before the evening ends a stranger in their midst is dead.

Caro sets out to help the rescue group find out the identity of the mystery guest, but soon finds herself in the doghouse with homicide detective, Judd Malone. Oh, and federal agent, John Milner. When there’s a second death, Caro is convinced she’s on the track of someone who wants a secret to stay buried, but it’s a race to see whether Caro can uncover the truth before the killer decides she’s next up.

Full of adorable pampered pets, the story re-visits lovely Laguna Beach, and some of the colorful characters readers have come to love in previous titles: Desperate Housedogs, Get Fluffy, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, and Yip/Tuck.

My Writing Motto: Victoria Bylin

For me, there’s only one reason to spend the countless hours it takes to write a book.  I love the act of putting words on the screen. The hunt for just the right phrase or image is the only part of the process an author really controls. That’s why my personal writing motto is, “The joy is in the doing.” 

I really do love to write. Well, not always. Sometimes that 5 a.m. shriek of the alarm is brutal.  But there’s tremendous satisfaction in creating fictional worlds that are relevant to today’s readers.  The setting can be contemporary (which I write now) or historical (which I wrote for Love Inspired). Either way, I love the hunt for words that help us to understand this crazy world we live in.

A friend once asked, “If you knew you’d never sell another book, would you still write?”

“Absolutely,” I told her. “It’s just who I am.”

So never mind the early wake-ups, the aches from too much computer time, or those days when the characters refuse to behave, or worse, to show up at all. That just means it’s time for a break, maybe a walk, some chocolate, or a visit with a friend. Or maybe it’s time for a few days of doing nothing while the ideas percolate. It’s all part of the creative process. 
 

The joy really is in the doing for me.  I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life and am blessed beyond words to be on this road.

Victoria Bylin is a romance writer known for her realistic and relatable characters. Her books have finaled in multiple contests, including the Carol Awards, the RITAs, and RT Magazine's Reviewers Choice Award. A native of California, she and her husband now make their home in Lexington, Kentucky, where their family and their crazy Jack Russell terrier keep them on the go. Learn more at victoriabylin.com.

Website:  http://www.victoriabylin.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Bylin-Author/128587893831186?ref=hl

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/VictoriaBylin

Victoria is giving away a copy of Until I Found You to one person who leaves a comment HERE on this blog today! Leave a comment with your email address to be entered in the drawing.
CLICK TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

Restore the Joy of Writing: Edie Melson

Consistency: Mary Connealy

Consistency. I do most of my brainstorming at night, while I lay awake in an insomniac fugue state. (I don’t know what fugue state means but I’ve been trying to work it into a blog and think this is a good spot.)

So, I brainstorm ‘what’s next for tomorrow.’ I have this image of myself flipping ideas over and over, tossing stuff out, trying things out, moving on, going back. I’m a sort of slow-motion juggler or acrobat twisting my mind around ‘what if.’

Actually I know I’m going to have a good night’s sleep when this works for me. When my mind is rabbitting around bickering with my husband over something he said sixteen years ago or nagging the children or arguing with something someone said on TV, then I’m in trouble. When I can brainstorm, I’m going to get to sleep soon. The fact that my plotting puts me to sleep is a matter best left to professional psychologist and fiction editors.

But it’s at night when I have these brain flashes like-- “I had her head bleeding at the beginning but I never had her wash blood off her face. Where did Adam get a rifle? I didn’t include Betsy in the scene with all the kids. Where is Betsy?

So, this is continuity as I define it. Writing a book, well, there are just a SCAD of words. You just write for pages and pages and pages. And usually the big stuff is there, pretty much laid out. You remember that. It’s the LITTLE STUFF that gets messed up. The fact that Adam, a secondary character, pulls a gun on the bad guys, when I have very clearly said (on the three occasions he’s come up for a few sentences) that he had no gun.

That’s in Petticoat Ranch and that book had been done for YEARS with that scene of Adam and his gun before I finally, one night in bed thought, “Where did Adam get a rifle?”

So, if I have those moments, well, I try not to get out bed. My chances of sleeping go way, way down if I start writing because I find writing to be caffeinated. But I do sometimes get up and write a sticky note and glue it on my computer monitor. Then, the next time I get the computer turned on, if I’m not at a point in my life where I can deal with Adam and his rifle. . .or the lack there of. . .I type a message to myself across the top of page one.

Across the top of Deep Trouble—not the copy I sent to my publisher, are these messages:

That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger (I have a joke I'm planning to tell using this line)

 
It is May
Emmy’s slightly younger brother Marcus And Ahway(Doba's son) come. She’s good on a trail.
Or not
Rope around Gabe’s waist? Belt/Lasso?
Pet name for Shannon.
Tyra had three older brothers who had struck out on their only after they realized Pa was too stubborn to move aside and let one of his sons be a real partner. But now Pa was aching in his joints and he got tired a lot faster. He’d lost a lot of his love of the ranch when Ma had died. She was buried in a quiet grave along with two little sisters. Pa was ready to let a son-in-law in, Tyra just knew it.
Bucky, brown hair, blue eyes. After his mother.
Seven sons; Abraham, Bartholomew, Canaan, Darius, Ephraim, Felix, Gabriel
He wants a woman like his mother and to prove himself to be dependable to her.
Shannon is exact opposite of his mother, not a ranch wife. City girl.
Hosteen Tsosi, wife Hozhò Tsosi (I’ve left off the dash`)
Gabe left home at seventeen. Ten years in the cavalry. Cowboy Christmas set in 1880. Gabe is 29 in this book.
Describe Shannon better. Dimple in chin. . .dent that looks like God had rested his finger lightly on her chin when he created her. Give Gabe the quirk of touching her chin.
Her quirk?
Get to scene with brothers and Bucky. Maybe Bucky before they get to Kinlichee
Rework villain’s motives from 37 on. . .done to there.
Shannon’s mother--Giselle Campbell Fontaine Father--Dysart Professor Delmer Dysart. The Delmer had been twisted into Delusional
Create brothers for Gabe.
Would be fiancée for him. Tough Texas rancher daughter for Gabe. Sets out with several of her brothers to find Gabe and drag him home. She likes the idea so she’s in but NOBODY pushes her around. Ruthless, tough, but not stupid, not evil. Perfect woman for Bucky. Tyra Morgan. Lucas Morgan-Tyra’s pa
What does Tyra look like? Tyra shook her head so hard she whipped herself in the face with her single long dark braid. Blue eyes, same color as Maddy’s.
Go on about families Bucky-Chatillon- He was a guide and hunter for the American Fur Company of St. Louis in the 1840's before settling permanently in the area with his second wife, Odile Delor Lux. Chatillon served as a guide for Francis Parkman, Jr. in 1846. Parkman wrote about their trip in his book "The Oregon Trail."

I will often have up to two pages of these notes at the top of a book document and when I feel like I've fully solved whatever issue the note is a reminder of, I delete the note. And also cry quietly with joy for a brief time to have one more thing perfected in my work. (joke)

One of the reasons I’ve battled consistency issues is because I wrote books that weren’t connected, then I rewrote them into a series. So, I may have needed to age a child but forgotten to because it's now book #2 in a series and I made that child have some small part in book #1.

I may have had one girl acting like a 12 year old, then a 16 year old, then a 12 year old again. This is partially because this character, very minor, was written with years between her creation and the finished book and I simply don’t remember how old I made her.

So, that’s my hint for consistency. Make notes to yourself at the top of the manuscript.

http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/">Seekerville
http://petticoatsandpistols.com/">Petticoats & Pistols
http://mconnealy.blogspot.com/">My Blog
http://www.maryconnealy.com/">My Website

Mary Connealy writes fun and lively "romantic comedy with cowboys." She is the author of the successful Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages, and Sophie's Daughters series. Her novel Doctor in Petticoats is a finalist for a Rita Awards, her novel Calico Canyon was nominated for a Christy Award and her novel Cowboy Christmas won the Carol Award. She lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughters, two fine sons-in-law and two spectacular grandchildren.

Find the Joy: John 15:11

Find the Joy in a New Project

Obviously a lot of my new projects are books. I get excited every time I put together characters and conflict for my next story. It’s positively energizing to be on the brink of something new and fun and exciting. Granted that energy tends to wane around page 20, but at the start, it’s all shiny and new. Here the possibilities are endless and the sky is the limit for these story people. I am working on a few new ideas right now, and I truly enjoy this process.

Cleaning and decluttering are projects that energize as well. I recently followed my friend, Julie Hilton Steele, as she decluttered her house for Lenten: 40 Bags in 40 Days. It was impressive, especially because she worked at it every single day and achieved her goal.

Facebook is great for seeing remodeling and painting projects, too. Author Holly Jacobs just laid a new wood floor. A while back she was making baskets and posting the photos. It’s a pleasure to see the accomplishments of our friends. We had to have plumbing work done on our laundry room that involved cutting out drywall, so my laundry room is getting a new paint color. As long as I’m picking a new color paint, I might as well hang new pictures.

Plant a new area in your garden or a flower pot in anticipation of full blooms later on. Gardening brings a lot of joy. That's last year's morning glory in the photo. Each year I can see the trellis from my front door, and it welcomes me when I come home and pull into my garage.

Another friend, Brenda, sews and quilts, and the finished projects she shares are beautiful and useful. It’s exciting starting a new craft project. Pulling together materials and supplies gets you excited for the journey. Seeing it finished is the icing on the cake.

Cake! Planning to bake or cook a special meal is a fun new project. Sometimes the hunt for the perfect recipe takes considerable thought, cookbook browsing and intense Pinterest perusal. Shopping for ingredients builds anticipation. Once in a while a recipe is a flop, and that’s disappointing, but the masterpieces more than make up for those. Last weekend I mixed up strawberry cake batter and poured it into the waffle iron just for fun. The kids loved it. (I did too.) Sometimes it brings joy to wear a vintage apron or use a favorite kitchen tool.

Working on something new is a good way to get out of a rut or find motivation. Beginnings are a fresh start on an accomplishment. Find the joy in a new project!