Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Kelli’s Quill Newsletter - Bountiful November Issue






Kelli’s Quill

Bountiful November 2017 Issue

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. Believe it or not, “the holidays” are rolling around again. For me, November is Medallion Month, and I’m featuring my Medallion Press historical romances, links to guest blogs, new stuff, free reads, and I answer 5 FAQ.

New things are happening…
My blog has been updated and refreshed… I’ve got new pages for historical romances and contemporary romances… New banners are up for my Twitter page and Facebook author page...

FREE READS from all of my romances (all genres) are now on my Manic Readers page: http://www.manicreaders.com/KelliAWilkins/


It’s Medallion Month!
All through November I'll be highlighting my Medallion Press historical romances on my blog and Facebook pages. These full-length romance novels are available on several ebook platforms and all are just $2.99. If you haven’t read any of them, why not give them a try?

Here’s a look at each title:

Lies, Love & Redemption: This full-length novel is set on the Nebraska prairie in 1877 and blends a steamy romance with mystery, and danger.


Lies, Love & Redemption

Shot and left for dead, Sam Hixton stumbles into a general store on the Nebraska prairie and collapses into the arms of Cassie Wilcox.

Cassie’s world is turned upside down when the handsome stranger drops into her life. Sam is another complication she doesn’t need: her business is dying and her trouble with the townspeople is escalating. Yet she’s determined to keep the store open — no matter what the cost.

As Sam recovers from his injuries, he hides the truth about his identity and convinces Cassie to let him work in the store. He’s attracted to her and admires her independent nature but quickly realizes Cassie’s in way over her head. They fight their growing attraction, and Cassie questions whether she can trust her fragile heart to a mysterious stranger. Will he accept her once he knows about her troubled past?

Cassie resists Sam’s advances and represses her feelings until one fateful night when they give in to their fiery passion. Together, they work out a plan to save the store but find their efforts are thwarted—and their lives endangered—by the locals.

Sam’s secret returns to haunt him and pulls him away just when Cassie needs him the most. Will he regain her trust when she learns the truth? Cassie has everything invested in the store—can she save it and find true love with Sam before it’s too late?

Order your copy here:


Links to other platforms:

Dangerous Indenture is set in Pennsylvania Colony blends sensual romance with mystery.

Dangerous Indenture

Eager to escape her past in Ireland, Shauna Farrow signs on to become an indentured servant to Joshua Stewart, a wealthy man in Pennsylvania Colony.

But a life of servitude quickly turns to drudgery, and her hopes for starting over and creating a better life for herself are waning—until she meets her master’s roguish son, Ashton.
           
Shauna fights her growing attraction to Ashton, torn between propriety and acting on her emotions. But amidst their flirting, something dark stirs. Shauna soon discovers why no other servants will work for the strange Stewart family.

Stewart House has an unsavory reputation: a previous servant died there under mysterious circumstances. When another servant goes missing in the middle of the night, Shauna is convinced that a member of the family is responsible.

When Shauna’s investigation leads her too close to the truth, it’s up to Ashton to save her before time runs out.

Order your copy here:



Other platforms:


The Viking’s Witch: This historical/paranormal novel won a gold IPPY award for best romance and has received several excellent reviews.


The Viking’s Witch

About to be burned at the stake by her fellow villagers, Odaria does what any betrayed witch facing certain death would do. She calls down a curse. Within seconds, rampaging Norsemen raid the village, capturing everyone except her.

But her reprieve is short-lived, and Odaria lands in the clutches of the Norse leader Rothgar. Can she remain true to herself and fight her growing attraction to this domineering man, or will she fall under his influence and be used for his ambitions?

After Rothgar witnesses Odaria’s powers firsthand, he strikes a bargain with her. The raven-haired beauty will use her magical abilities to help him with his quest in exchange for safe passage off the isle. But can this cunning woman be trusted, or is she using him to exact vengeance on her village?

Together they must fight bloodthirsty villagers, battle a mutinous band of Norsemen, find a missing Norse ship, and learn to trust each other . . . before time is up.

Order your copy here:




Guest blogs & Fun Stuff


Ever talk to a Viking? Read a chat with Rothgar, the hero from The Viking’s Witch… https://kelliwilkinsauthor.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-chat-with-rothgar-from-vikings-witch.html

Like historical romance? Read about the making of Dangerous Indenture: https://kelliwilkinsauthor.blogspot.com/2017/11/dangerous-indenture-historical-mystery.html

Don’t miss my guest blog about writing historical romances: http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/2017/01/on-genres-with-kelli-wilkins.html

Looking for something more modern? Read an exclusive excerpt from my contemporary romance, Trust with Hearts: https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Blog/Articles/Exclusive-Excerpt-Trust-With-Hearts-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins


Need some motivation to write your book? Check out this blog about finding time to write. Post includes fun writing exercises. https://princessofthelight.wordpress.com/2017/10/24/finding-the-time-to-write-by-kwilkinsauthor-nanowrimo-writingtips-tuesdaybookblog/

See what's on my desk & read about my writing routines... “What’s on your desk, Wednesday” http://bit.ly/2zaMDGm

Kelli’s Corner
This month, I answer the Top 5 Questions Writers are Often Asked. I hope you find them interesting.

1. How do I get published?
“How do I get published?” is one of the most common questions writers want answered. The truth is, you can’t “do” anything to get published other than submitting your best work to the appropriate publication. The rest is up to the editor. He or she will like it – or not.

But here are quick three tips to getting published: 1. Write the best story you can (revise as needed!) 2. Research the market(s) you’ll be submitting to 3. Pick the best place to send your story, and submit it. Really, that’s all you can do! After you’ve submitted your story, forget about it and write something else. It may take months to hear back about your submission.

2. Any advice for aspiring authors?
The best advice I can give to any writer (regardless of what genre he or she likes to write) is to keep writing. It takes a lot of dedication and determination to sit down every day and write something. But the more you write, the easier it gets. Writing classes are also a great way to learn the basics of storytelling. (That’s how I got started!) If possible, join a writer’s group or a critique group to get feedback on your stories. When you’ve written, revised, and polished your story, submit it! You can’t get published if you never submit, and you never know when your first acceptance will arrive. You can also check out my non-fiction writing guide, You Can Write — Really! It’s packed with advice, tips, and writing exercises.

3. Where do you get the ideas and titles for your books?
Ideas are everywhere… you just need to find them. I tend to be a bit nosy and I like to explore, so I come up with ideas just by noticing my surroundings and observing what’s going on around me. I also have a vivid imagination, which helps give me ideas. Once in a while, a story idea or character will come to me out of nowhere. Sometimes I take two ideas and combine them into one, or I take an idea and ask myself “what if” to invent new scenarios and plotlines.

Titles are harder to come up with than the whole book! In some cases, I’ll have a title in mind before I start writing the story (such as Four Days with Jack and Midsummer Night’s Delights), but many times I don’t have the title until well after I’ve finished writing. I try to find a theme or a line in the story to use in the title or as the title. (A Most Unusual Princess is a good example.) If that doesn’t work, I’ll brainstorm about the characters or related words, then mix and match potential title ideas until something clicks.

4. What are some of the public misconceptions or myths you’ve encountered when people discover you write romances?
The first one that comes to mind is that romance authors are basing the love scenes in their books on their own private lives, and that we “act out” the love scenes. Not true! The stories are fiction, not confessionals. Another misconception is that writing romance is “easier” than writing stories in other genres because there’s no “real” plot or characterization. Again, not true! Writing good romance (at any heat or sensuality level) is just as difficult and as labor-intensive as writing horror, sci fi, or mystery.

5. How long does it take to write a book? Do you spend a lot of time researching topics for your historical romances?
Once I have the time period for a historical romance, I do research for details and/or ideas for setting, clothing, occupations, or even the food that people ate. (I did a lot of research for Dangerous Indenture and The Viking’s Witch.) I like to weave little details into the stories and blend them in as naturally as possible. When I’m writing fantasy romance, I try to make the details believable, even if I’m making them up!

The only contemporary romance I did research for was Beauty & the Bigfoot. I had to know everything about Bigfoot so I could create the quirky characters and give the story an extra boost of realism.

Depending on the length of the story or the scope of the book, it can take anywhere from a week to a month to write the first (very rough!) draft. Shorter stories like Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover and Four Days with Jack took a week to make it onto paper. Full-length books such as Lies, Love & Redemption and Loving a Wild Stranger took a month. I write all my stories in longhand, so after the first draft is finished, I edit it as I type it.

I love the process of writing. Creating characters and telling the story of their adventures is a lot of fun. It’s interesting to see what the characters do, to watch them fall in love, and to learn how they overcome their troubles to have a happy ending.

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I hope you enjoyed this issue of the Quill. Please share it with your social media friends. I welcome feedback and questions from readers, so drop me a line with your comments.
Here’s a list of where you can find me on social media:

Newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/HVQqb
FREE READS: Manic Readers page: http://www.manicreaders.com/KelliAWilkins/

Until next time…
Kelli