Hi, everyone! Welcome to a brand new year!
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In this post, I’m going to give you an overall look at what I’m doing this year, but first, I wanted to announce my new release. (I don’t know about anyone else, but it feels like I haven’t had a new book out in a long time.)
Here’s the information for One Enchanted Evening!
This is Marriage by Fairytale (Book 2)
Books in the series:
- The Marriage Contract (Book 1) – already available
- One Enchanted Evening (Book 2) – now available
- The Wedding Pact (Book 3) – coming soon – will mention in this post
- Fairest of Them All (Book 4) – coming soon – will mention in this post
Long story short, One Enchanted Evening is loosely based off of Cinderella. I have the titled gentleman who is looking for a wife, a heroine who is a servant, a step-sister, the factoring in of urgency and time, and a slipper that ends up playing a key role in the story. It’s not a retelling of Cinderella. It’s a new story with elements of the classic fairy tale woven into it. And, because this is a romance, I make sure to give the happily ever after ending.
I’m not the kind of romance writer who does a “Happy For Now” ending. I prefer “Happily Ever After” endings, regardless of the kind of books I’m writing. So, of course, you’ll get that kind of ending in this book, too.
If you’re interested in finding out more about this book, here are the links:
The Imperfect Husband will be out in March
This is currently with my editing team.
This is the last and final book in the Misled Mail Order Brides Series.
- The Bride Price (Book 1)
- The Rejected Groom (Book 2)
- The Perfect Wife (Book 3)
- The Imperfect Husband (Book 4)
Through a series of unfortunate events that played out at the end of The Perfect Wife when, in an attempt to save Annabelle Larson from a couple of outlaws, Ben Martin made up the lie that she was expecting his child. As a result, the outlaws made him marry her. Ben’s been in love with Annabelle for years, but he knows the last thing Annabelle ever wanted was to be chained to him for life.
And so, The Imperfect Husband opens on the day Annabelle has to go live with him. This is a romantic comedy. Since this is part of the Larson world, I did bring in a couple of familiar faces while introducing new ones. For example, Annabelle goes out to Tom and Jessica Larson’s farm in one of the scenes. While I bring in Jessica, Richard, and Amanda (familiar characters), I give a formal introduction to Nelly Larson, who is Tom and Jessica’s oldest daughter. I’m currently writing Nelly’s book. I’ll give more information on that below.
One nice thing about the Larsons is that it always feels like I’m visiting old friends when I work in that world. From the feedback I’ve received, I know a lot you feel the same way.
Shane’s Deal will be out in April
At long last, I have finally completed the Montana series. This one is also with my editing team right now.
Books in the series:
- Mitch’s Win (Book 1)
- Boaz’s Wager (Book 2)
- Patty’s Gamble (Book 3)
- Shane’s Deal (Book 4)
Thanks to everyone who has been patient while I waited for the right storyline to fit this book. I was very happy by how things worked out, especially in wrapping up the loose end I left hanging at the end of Patty’s Gamble.
I brought in Boaz and Eva quite a bit, and we get to see Herb and Rachel to a lesser extent. Those two were featured in Boaz’s Wager. I wasn’t able to bring in the other main characters. They just didn’t fit into the plot. I don’t put characters into a story unless they fit in. Know, however, that they are all happy.
This one features an alpha hero in an old west setting, and there are a couple of gunfights. It was fun to work with elements I haven’t used up to this point. Also, there was a part at the end that made me cry while writing it and editing it. You’ll see what I mean when you read it. But rest assured, there is a happily ever after ending to this one for our main characters.
Kidnapping the Viscount will be out in May
This is also in the editing stage.
This book finishes up the Marriage by Fate Series.
Books in this series:
- The Reclusive Earl (Book 1)
- Married In Haste (Book 2)
- Make Believe Bride (Book 3)
- The Perfect Duke (Book 4)
- Kidnapping the Viscount (Book 5)
This was one of the funniest books I’ve written in a long time. The Imperfect Husband was funny, too, but this one was mostly comedy. You can’t take anything in this book seriously, so read this one if you’re in the mood to laugh.
Anyone remember Logan (Lord Toplyn) from Ruined by the Earl? I wrote that one years ago. Anyway, someone in my Facebook group mentioned wanting to see him again, so I decided to make Logan the hero’s best friend in this book. Logan was a cad back then, and he’s still one now. So it stands to reason Gill (Lord Powell), our hero, would be willing to resort to unusual methods in order to get the lady of his dreams to marry him. In this case, the unusual method is to convince her to kidnap him…without letting her know he’s the one behind the whole scheme.
Okay, so that brings us to books I’m currently writing…
And these books will be out later in the year.
The Wedding Pact (Marriage by Fairytale: Book 3)
This one is loosely based off Little Red Riding Hood. I have a naive heroine who will wear red at some point. I have a controlling and dangerous villain who goes by the title Lord Wolfe. I have a hero who lives in a remote and wooded area. There are no grandmothers in this version of the tale. This has a marriage of convenience plot between our hero and heroine.
I was going to make her nineteen, but I bumped up her age to twenty-one so that her guardian can’t contest the marriage. I don’t know much more about this book yet since I’m still in chapter one. I’m just getting to know the characters and am getting a feel for the way the story will progress.
Nelly’s Mail Order Husband (Husbands for the Larson Sisters: Book 1)
NO COVER YET
I might change the title of the series, but the title of the book will stay the same. I was going to do “The Husband List”, but I worry that might be too generic for a series title. We’ll see how things progress.
Anyway, I’m not sure if this will be a comedy yet or not. I want it to be a comedy, but we’ll have to see how the story progresses. This book features a fiercely independent heroine (Nelly Larson) who wants to prove she can manage a homestead without a husband. She’s 23 and would rather wear a pair of pants and join the men during the harvest than spend her time in the kitchen sweating while wearing a dress with layers of petticoats, etc. We have a protective but fun father (that is Tom Larson) who doesn’t believe any man can be good enough for his little girls. We have a mother who wants grandchildren (that is Jessica Larson). And we have three sisters who have no qualms about answering a mail-order husband ad on Nelly’s behalf.
Our hero has grown up rich, and when his family loses their money, he seeks out a wealthy heiress. Under the assumption that a homesteader out west is rich, he jumps at the chance to marry Nelly. Between a heroine who doesn’t want to be married and a hero who is in for the shock of his life when he realizes she’s not rich, I’m aiming for lots of funny moments. After all, I imagine a man who’s never mucked out a stall before will provide plenty of humor…especially since he’s a beta type hero. Of course, I might throw him into the kitchen instead since our heroine hates to cook. I don’t know what will happen yet.
Fairest of Them All (Marriage by Fairytale: Book 4)
This is loosely based off Snow White. And when I say “loosely”, I mean loosely. In this setup, the step-mother is the heroine instead of the villain. I think I know who the real villain is, but I’m only in chapter 1 so it’s really too early to tell. The hero is a widower three times. I was going to have him be the survivor to two wives, but I thought three would give the book a more gothic feel. Rumors are going around that any lady who marries him will be dead within a year.
The hero is looking for a fourth wife who will chaperone his step-daughter for the upcoming Season. (This step-daughter was the girl of his first wife.) He has no children of his own. He keeps himself in hiding because he believes he’s cursed and that he’s the reason all of his wives keep dying. There is a reason for this, but it would spoil the book so I won’t say why. His plan is to marry so his step-daughter can have a mother, but he doesn’t plan to ever show his face to his new wife (due to the curse).
Our heroine is desperate. Her brother just died, leaving her, her aunt, and her young sisters bankrupt. When she finds out the hero is offering substantial money to the bride’s family, she agrees to marry him. There will be a dynamic between her and her step-daughter, but it’s not going to play out like the classic fairy tale. I’m going to take a lot of liberties with this story and spin it in another direction.
Forever Yours (Dave and Mary Larson’s third book)
NO COVER YET
I was originally going to tack this into the Nebraska Series, but since that one has been established for a few years, that could mess up the ordering system. This book would take place right after His Redeeming Bride. I’ll decide what to do about either keeping this as a standalone or putting it within the Nebraska Series later.
Right now, I have started it. I’m not sure how long it’ll be. I know it’s not going to be a short story. This will be at least 30,000 words. There’s enough content to cover so that it won’t be a shorter book. But I’m not sure it’ll be 50,000 to 70,000 words, which is where my books tend to be in terms of length.
In this book, Dave suffers from a fall from a horse and is confined to the indoors. This will be difficult for Dave who’s used to being outside all the time. At one point, he’s going to go out during a storm to protect the animals, and this is where he gets sick. Up to now, we’ve seen Dave always being the strong one. I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if Mary gets to be the strong one for a change. We all have our moments where we face insecurities and fears. I had thought, “What if Dave had to face those things? What would happen?” So that’s what the basis of this book will be like.
Things will work out because this is a romance, but this is more of a romance where the characters have a more mature relationship. (I’ve been married for 18 years now, and there’s no reason why the romantic spark should fade just because you’re no longer a newlywed. But I will say it takes effort to keep that spark alive. That’s what this book is about, but we also need conflict to make things interesting. Hence why Dave will be getting sick.) Dave and Mary will be married for ten years at this point. Isaac will be 8, Rachel will be 5, and Adam will be 2. There’s a reason I chose this specific time period in their lives, and I’ll get into that during the course of the book.
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As you can see, it’s going to be a fun and exciting year! I might not be online a lot while, but my goal will be to write my best books yet! I will be coming onto this blog for the monthly newsletters to keep everyone updated on my progress.
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