CountDown -- 5 days!!

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Ack!! Five days. Five days to release day!
OR, five days until you can actually read my book!!

So excited. I've spent this week working on promotion, finding spots to advertise,...and yes, I'm watching my Amazon sales ranking, which isn't bad for a book that hasn't even come out yet. And it's fluctuating, so...either other people are selling books or I am. <3  I can't tell. hahaha.

Don't forget to get your copy of Letters From Home, kay? It's a romantic story of life in the military, of love where we least expect it. Or, as one reviewer already said,

This story was well written and unfolded perfectly for the amount of pages it contained. It's a sexy, romantic, feel-good Christmas story. I loved it!
                                 ~Cheryl Sanders, Goodreads Review

Click the cover for a quick, painless, virtual trip to Amazon. :D
And have a great week, friends.
With Love,
Bethanne

Turkey Run?

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Matt and I are doing a 5K this morning. [We're going to freeze our rears off!!]

I've been thinking about this whole running thing for a [little] while. I'm okay with it, even if it's not my favorite thing in the whole world, because the idea of running [and the actual running] has added an element of discipline to my life, which wasn't there before.

And guess what?

I'm writing a lot more than I ever did five years ago. Oh, I wrote plenty back then, but it was always on a whim, never by the determination to work daily and get it done. I let my muse lead the way...

And sometimes, a person [me] needs to take success by the reins.

How about you? If it's not writing, what helps you take your own life in your hands and do something with it?


Why Write?

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Write for the fun of it...

I keep telling myself that, and it really helps as I rewrite the ending to one of my romantic suspense novels and as I start a new novel.

When I'm scared to death that no one will like my books, I have to remember--I love this story. I love these characters. They are fun. They are just what I would want to read.

Then it's okay. I don't mind that not everyone will appreciate every part of my book. If they smile at just one page, one sentence, even one word!!

I'm happy.

Stay tuned for news about the new release, book covers, and blog tours...and prizes!
Have a great week,
With Love,
Bethanne

Psst....

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I just sold another manuscript!! This one, Unwanted Vows, to Boroughs Publishing Group. I had a few nibbles on this one. One from HQ. Another from an agent. And I sent it to Avon, too. But I wasn't happy with HQs take on the story. Never heard from the agent. Never heard from Avon, either.

I really liked the look of Boroughs Publishing Group and I'm excited to get into the company with this manuscript...as usual, with the hope to sell a few more to them.

Looking forward to another exciting year!! Whoooot!

I LOVE THIS BUSINESS!!!

Don't worry, I will get back to that list of things I wanted to blog about... but for now, enjoy the holiday and your weekend.
With Love,
Bethanne

The Book Post

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I've started this blog about four times now...
I have so much running through my head that I want to get into it, that I've decided to focus!! Focus in on one topic rather than spew half-heartedly about several--love, sex, faith, family, books...

And so, I'm going to talk about the book I finished today. It's called Enchanted, and it's by Elizabeth Lowell. She has a small series, a trilogy, of  Medieval Romances, which I absolutley adore. In my early romance reading days, I'd favorite an author and then read through their entire back list... She was one of those, with her romantic suspense--Pearl Cove (LOVE THAT BOOK) and The Diamond Tiger (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that book). She has a Western series that I love too....

Are you seeing the pattern? haha.

As you can see, Enchanted was a re-read. And it made me cry. And that made me think that I haven't written anything that good yet. I hadn't hit that depth...the true, raw emotion that makes you cry. As a student [of life...yes, I just said that :P], I'm always questioning. I want to know what makes this book so good. And then....I read her Afterword. And that made me cry, too!! [maybe there's something wrong with me, after all.] Though we don't always know where a story comes from, Lowell was nice enough to share how she'd come to write her Medieval stories. [yes, you'll have to borrow the book from the library and read it yourself.] I was so touched by her words, by her inspirational journey that lead to these strong characters and this incredible story in which she didn't skimp on anything... the hate, the evil, the good, the sex, the love.

She just put it all out there.

So that I could read it.

And cry.

I think, when I am finally able to do this, I will have a measure of success... a measure still much smaller than that of Elizabeth Lowell's.

With that in mind, National Novel Writing Month, here I come.
Have a great week.
With Love,
Bethanne

Fiction Friday

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I actually lost track of what I was supposed to be doing on Fridays... fiction? Fake? Fabulous? haha.

So, for today, it'll be fiction. A little snippet--yes, to take place of Saturday Snippets tomorrow--for your reading pleasure. From Dark Summer [being revised and rewritten] -- when the ache of betrayal puts more than a marriage at risk.



Stacy took a detour to the indoor hot tub and soaked for about twenty.

Lunch had merely been an excuse to leave, but now she was starving.

Reality had been the clincher this afternoon. She could see now. Too close. Too friendly. Too flirty. And when he’d laughed, she’d seen something in his eyes--too real.

She could be sure of her own feelings, her own thoughts. And though having the attention of a man had been lacking in her life for some time, this was definitely not what she wanted. It had taken a few shakes. Okay, maybe a knock upside the head.
But truth was truth, and she owed Miguel an apology. Unintentional or not, she’d led him on, made him think…ugh! She slammed the locker closed, leaned her forehead against the cool metal, and a tear slid down her cheek. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!


Mondays are FUN!

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Well, since my husband is home today--federal holiday and all--I decided to sleep in. He has Darla this morning, and I'm supposed to be working, which I'm not...yet. In any case. I got out of bed at 5:30ish and came to the office to do a few things... when all of a sudden I realize it's 6:20!! And the house is a tomb! No one is up!! All the lights are off and no one has come in to bug me.

Needless to say, things picked up quite quickly and we all ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to get out the door by 7:05. ha! Only one was late, because he forgot his trumpet and begged me to take him home to get it...apparently, if a parent drops an item off after school has started, the teacher keeps it. A lesson in not forgetting stuff. OTOH, when I asked him what happens if he's tardy, he said, "Nothing." Well, that was an easy one for me. I drove him home to get his trumpet. Maybe that makes me a sucker, but if a parent is going to have mercy on their child and bring something in for them...like hell if a teacher is going to waste that mercy AND time. Just my opinion, though. :D :D

BTW, I thought you'd be interested in knowing... I sold a story to Boroughs Publishing Group!! Can I tell you how excited I am about this? SOOOO EXCITED. It's a break from all the category romance I've been writing, trying to write. And I'm pretty psyched about the novel, too because it's a good one. This is the same publisher who published By Proxy, which, if you're following along, is the book I featured last week on my blog. I'm looking forward to making my story even better than it is, and getting it out there for all my readers to read. Very excited. Definitely a step in the right direction.

So, it's back to work for me before my alone time disappears...
Dark Summer rewrite.
Down a Dark Road plotting.
There's always something to do, always another story to tell...
Have a great week!
With Love,
Bethanne

Sunday Summations

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I read a great story this past week.
By Proxy by Katy Regnery. It was so much fun! The characters jumped off the pages...and for the first time in a looong time, I was completely amused. This book was not typical. Oh sure, the love story rang true, and I knew the hero and heroine would get together in the end--somehow. But the author grasped these two, never wavering from the integrity of their characteristics. Truly a country girl. Definitely a city boy.

The heroine didn't give in to some socially acceptable version of what a heroine should be. The hero actually questioned the why of his life--a life that had been going nowhere but up.

But don't we want the hero to go up? Isn't that what we're all looking for? Good looks, wealth, charm, position, status...virility?

I know from church last weekend that being rich isn't a sin. And if there was one complaint about the book, it would be the outlook--no redeeming value for the city lifestyle portrayed in it. Even so, it was the hero's life. And the author pulled no punches. He went from being lost to found. It was wonderful!

They saved each other. And it was so sweet...and not completely annoying innocent, either. Which was another great quality. Sexual desire between two people. Reality, even for people of faith, with an inner voice telling them they should wait. Chemistry, not glossed over or ignored in order to sell to the Christian romance market. Nothing overtly bold or mainstream romance... yet it is. It's just a wonderful blend.

Our sweet heroine discovering the passion of a real kiss. Awww. It was a fun read. Light yet emotional.
And totally Christmas!! Yippee. My first Christmas story of the year. :D

I'm so excited for my own Christmas story to come out.


Monday Morning Coffee

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Don't you just love when your morning gets off to a GREAT start?
Well-slept and rested, I wake up, avoid a slightly grumpy spouse, and hit my office running. Get a few pages written and network with a few people. All before 6am!!

There's just one thing.
My first batch of coffee, put together last night, was WAY. TOO. DARK!
My second batch, made when I couldn't stand the taste of the first, was so light it looked like tea.

Ha! Now that the kids are in school and I've returned home, cleaned up breakfast [and yes, a few dinner dishes from last night], I'm making the third batch.

Fingers-crossed!

Have a great week!
With Love,
Bethanne

Plotting is Hard

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Does plotting kill the story or make it better?

I'm struggling with this right now. I believe I have a talent. A story-telling talent. I see a story in my head. The natural ebbs and flows, ups and downs come easily to me. But sometimes, if I sit and try to identify the elements I've created, I can't.

How do the characters grow?

I don't have the analytical mind. I can't always see those types of things.

Have they grown? Sure. They have to! They did this and that and the other thing to get to their Happily-Ever-After. That doesn't happen without change. No. Don't ask me to tell you how they grow!! They just grow, darn it!

So...this is why plotting and narrowing the storyline is hard for me. I love to have a story plotted. Don't get me wrong. I think having the end in sight is crucial to getting there. I didn't used to be a plotter at all, and those stories need the most work.

I might have to fight the plot i'm working on, but I'm determined to write a story that has as little revisions as possible. Lots to think about. Lots to do.

...and did I mention I'm still editing and revising? *eyeroll*

Flashback Friday -- 9-17-08

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Fun to go back and read old posts. In September of 2008, I bought a domain...
I was still working on my WW2 spy novel, which has since gone dormant on my hard-drive.
As a matter of fact, I will always love this story for being the one that forced me to start over...
I was NOT a plotter yet and have since become an avid and enthusiastic one.
Hard to believe all I've done in the ensuing years... Enjoy the look back!

~*~*~
~ My Manuscript is running away without me ~

In other words, How to keep it Simple.

I don't know how to do this well. This morning my secondary opened his mouth and said, "I have a problem with my radios."

I was like, What? What the hell are you talking about? No! No problems with radios!!! Stop it. Just stop it.

Then a friend of mine Inez Kelley said something to me that really helped!

Make the story about One Thing. [not those exact words, but that's what I got from it]

Okay, I can do that. My story is about one thing. Each thread doesn't have to be another story, it just needs to add to the ONE THING.

So I took out my pencil and started writing down all the things that would affect ONE THING. Let me give you an example. I have this ww2 setting...and spies. BUT, my main characters are actually part of a civilian unit that is working to extract refugees from occupied Europe, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland...

So, the point is...

Everything that is highlighted in this story must somehow affect that objective. I'm doing okay... I haven't completely lost my focus. Most of the revision changes will be minor... *cough* of course, i'll probably adding a scene here or there.

OMGosh. this is totally why I'm going to plot my next story.
Also, when do you quit?
I mean, the revisions just keep happening! When do I step away from the keyboard and say, this is a good story, but you're still learning to plot your craft... you might want to take what you've learned and start new, start fresh?

Sunday Summations

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Why is it that we're always learning? changing? discovering?

I think, in ten years, I've only figured out that nothing stays the same.

This makes branding myself a bit of an issue. If you're on my blog, you can see I made changes again. I've had a pretty 'cutest blog on the block' design up for a while. I knew it didn't really suit my writing, but I was okay with that for now. Even if I write on the darker side, I'm still a girl. I like pink and flowers and snazzy designs.

But the rule of promotion says to "Brand" myself. Make sure people can recognize me no matter where I show up online. This isn't a writer's rule, either, btw. We all recognize certain ideas, logos, themes when it comes to businessess whether they are online or off line.

This past week, I started messing around with my facebook page and my blog and my twitter. It's different. Not permanent, perhaps. Eventually I'd like to have my own domain involved and an actual Bethanne Design created that really IS me. But that will cost money!! So, I'll make do until then...

I think part of my problem is that I get bored. I like the change. Probably part of the reason I've enjoyed sharing a life with my husband who has moved us several times in 15 years. I get on my blog a couple times a year and I start messing with it. changing font, changing design, changing my bio.

So, there it is, the new design. It's fun, different, darker, and winner of the Most Likely to Change award at the graduation banquet. ;)

Let's Summate! [I don't think that's a word, but I don't care]
{ I'm editing. } <--that's the nutshell, btw. ha! doesn't it kind of look like a walnut?

I've written a lot of novellas over the last couple of years. I remember when I hit that phase. I'd written a half dozen full length novels, and I think I was tired. No luck came from any of those submissions, so I decided to shake things up. I'd heard that writing short helps focus your writing. That when every word counts, I would need to make every word count!! So I started writing shorter stories, 30K.

Two years later, I'm ready to go back. I've learned alot in writing them. I HAVE improved my abilities [I think], but now I'm sitting here with comments like... "if you made this longer, you could develop the characters more and really give the reader a better feel for them. Invest the reader!" and "I'm sorry. I don't review novella length. It might be a great story, but I just don't read them. Too many times I find I'm wanting more."

For me, that's okay. I do have a novella length coming out in November. But it's a Christmas story, so I think it will do well. People are more likely to pick up a themed shorter story. I am, anyway!! Something to get me in the spirit. :D This also means that I've had to rethink a few stories I'm working on now--like I said, editing. I think it's time to open the gates--so to speak. Time to bring the shorter novels up a step. Really get into the characters' heads, find the kinks. Find what I was missing before.

And then I'll see. :)
I was going to write something new this fall.
I don't know how that is going to happen, but if all else fails, I think in December I will take a break from all this editing and write something new over the holidays...even if it is another Holiday Novella. ha!

Have a great week,
With Love
Bethanne

Saturday Snippets

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Winter Craze, or also called, Another Shot in the Dark by Me

...Grabbing her arm, Tan pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her chest and giving her a lift off the ground. Wow, she was light.

Immediately, she threw her head back, catching the side of his jaw. Pain shot through his temple. He groaned, the surprise making him drop her. She slammed her foot onto his instep, elbowed his gut, which left him breathless, then turned and kneed him in the groin.

He moaned and slowly lowered himself to the floor so he could lie in the fetal position. Holy Crap. Taken down by a sparkling princess. Thank God he was the only one around today.

She leaned over, and her hair brushed against his cheek. “How about you tell my dad I passed, and we’ll call it even.”

Not in a million years, he promised as she picked up her bag and walked out the door....