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I know I cannot be the only author that gets protective of their work. We put so much of ourselves into our writing, that when an editor sends it back with proposed changes, the first thing I do is get defensive. Yet where would we be without those editors? I have an excellent one that catches if I use a word too many times or if I have mixed up my characters in my story. Once I get past that knee jerk reaction of “what’s wrong with it?”, then I can become proactive and part of the process of making my work polished. It doesn’t mean that there might not be an error here or there, but there will sure be a lot less of them. So thank you to editors out there. We appreciate all that you do.

Page Publishing did this wonderful video for the release of Book 4. Hope you like it.

Love Stings, the 4th installment in the Home Office Lord’s novels, has been accepted by the publisher.  Come along with us and explore Lord Emmett Davenport’s mission to track down a trusted English Foreign Office contact.  Find out why the contact’s messages have changed.

I am so excited to announce that the cover was approved today for the 2nd novel in the Home Office Lord’s series.  It will now go to print and be available within the month.  Book 3 is in the edit/rewrite stage.  Not my most favorite stage in publishing a novel. lol.  Prior to book 3 being published, I hope to be working with a literary agent to help promote the books.  Enjoy.

Besides writing an outline for a book, it is important to keep characters straight.  Doing a family tree and a character list help.  That way there won’t be too many Tom’s for instance.  Part of the character list is also a physical description of the character and how they relate to each other.  We have also been keeping track of ship names as well as those for inns.  When writing a series, some of the same landmarks may be used from book to book. Click here to see how we do a family tree to help keep our characters straight.

I know it is fun to write and watch page after page filling up, but when one writes a historical fiction, the historical part still needs to jive.   I have always liked history, some more than others. Being an avid reader helps as well.  Some times I have done a quick search, but it just doesn’t have the same depth that reading a good history book has.  Libraries are full of them, as are self-publishing sites and so many people are addicted to the internet that many publishers are not accepting regular history books or even ones that are specific to a certain time period or event. Knowing what is going on in a certain time period allows a writer to build the fiction around the events that happened in that era.  I feel it gives it more credibility and helps to drive the excitement or the suspense to…

So many books today, while having great story lines, have too much erotica for a conservative person like me.  I grew up reading mysteries and who done its.  When I started on romances, I preferred the historical romance genre, like Barbara Cartland.  Since I have grown up, I do like to read Stephanie Laurens, JoAnn Beverly, Christina Dodd and many others.  I just did not feel comfortable even writing erotic passages.  I have always liked stories where the good guy wins out over the evil one.   I really did not want to write a lot of violence, but an uplifting story that would keep the adult interested, yet a younger person could read without a parent being concerned.  Raven’s Choice is my first attempt.  My nieces, who are my first line editors, have commented that the writing has gotten better with each book. Ideas come to me where ever…