Robin Stone's Blog, page 5

I recently spent a weekend in Maine with a group of writer friends. We rented a house on Air BnB, and it was awesome! Nice, spacious house with a great view of the mountains.

We brought tons of food, and went out to eat one night. We had writing sprints, and I now have The Landscaper’s Christmas about 80% complete! It was a relaxing trip, but I’m ready to buckle down and work on my upcoming projects.

I’ve gone through some major life changes in the past year, and I’ve had to re-evaluate my business plans. I’ve consulted with some experienced authors, and they’ve helped me to formulate a plan.

Starting in two weeks (August 21st), I will be taking my books down from Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo and putting them into Amazon and Kindle Unlimited only.

If you buy my books from Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, don’t worry! When I publish a new book, I’ll make it available on all vendors for a few weeks. I’ll let you know when they’ll be pulled from other vendors and put exclusively into Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

The next few months, I’ll be publishing more of my own books, plus I’ll be participating in more projects with other authors. I’m really excited about a couple of projects in the works…watch this newsletter for some more cool announcements!

In the meantime, go to my books page on my site to buy any books you need on Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo before August 21st.

I finally have the pre-order links for my standalone contemporary romance novella The Letter. My novella will be published in this multi-author Finders Keepers box set. The theme of the box set is that a character in each story has lost an item. One of my characters has lost a love letter…

Here’s the box set cover, as well as the cover for my individual story.

The Letter: He lost his true love. Will he ever find another?

Single dad Garrett Hollis is a busy mechanic running his garage in town. Since his wife died, he goes to work, picks up his active six-year-old daughter from day care, cooks and cleans, then tucks her in at night. Garrett collapses into bed exhausted. His nosy sister has tried setting him up, but who has time for dating?

Melanie Sutton is the new children’s librarian in town. She’s sworn off men after a series of dating disasters…until she notices the hot dad who’s totally devoted to his daughter. When Garrett asks Melanie out, she agrees. Maybe a date or two while he shows her around town won’t hurt. 

Things heat up between Garrett and Melanie, and he’s eager to spend more time with her. Even his daughter is getting attached. But when Garrett finds out a secret Melanie’s been keeping from him, can he ever forgive her? Or will he put his walls up and retreat to the safety of being alone?

The Letter is a 23,000 word contemporary romance novella featuring a hot single dad, a cute six-year-old, and a librarian who’s almost given up on love.

I had to turn down the heat a bit for this set, so my novella is more contemporary romance than erotic romance.

Pre-order this box set on Amazon for only .99 for a limited time! Also available in Kindle Unlimited. I highly recommend you check out my friend Casey Hagen’s story, too!

Amazon US: http://bit.ly/FindersKeepersAmazonUS
Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/FindersKeepersAmazonCA
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/FindersKeepersAmazonUK
Amazon AUS: http://bit.ly/FindersKeepersAmazonAUS

I don’t have a finalized cover *yet*, but I’ll actually have two covers to share soon! I’m contributing a standalone romance novella of 23,000 words to the upcoming multi-author Finders Keepers box set. The theme of the box set is that a character in each story has lost an item. 

I’ll have a cover for my story, and there will be a cover for the box set.

Sorry, I know, it’s a tease! But here’s the blurb:

He lost his true love. Will he ever find another?

Single dad Garrett Hollis is a busy mechanic running his garage in town. Since his wife died, he goes to work, picks up his active six-year-old daughter from day care, cooks and cleans, then tucks her in at night. Garrett collapses into bed exhausted. His nosy sister has tried setting him up, but who has time for dating?

Melanie Sutton is the new children’s librarian in town. She’s sworn off men after a series of dating disasters…until she notices the hot dad who’s totally devoted to his daughter. When Garrett asks Melanie out, she agrees. Maybe a date or two while he shows her around town won’t hurt. 

Things heat up between Garrett and Melanie, and he’s eager to spend more time with her. Even his daughter is getting attached. But when Garrett finds out a secret Melanie’s been keeping from him, can he ever forgive her? Or will he put his walls up and retreat to the safety of being alone?

I will share buy links soon! This multi-author box set will be available on all the major vendors.

In my last post, I talked about how I write drafts of a story. When I edit my own work, I make several passes: First, I read it on my computer and make corrections. Then, I print it and read it on paper. I also put it on my Kindle to read. When I turn it in to my editor, I’ve made it as clean as possible.

I usually send the draft to one or more beta readers while it’s with my editor. I don’t ask beta readers to find misspelled words, but they tell me how they liked the book, the characters, and if the story flowed well.

Once I get my book back from my editor with corrections, I try to work on them immediately. I’m so thankful for a fantastic editor who doesn’t try to quash my voice. She catches everything, and makes helpful suggestions, but it’s up to me to make the final corrections.

Once I correct all the edits, I send my book for proofreading. At this stage, all major errors should be fixed. When I get the book back with proofread corrections, there isn’t much to do. I may have missed some punctuation marks. After I correct the proofreads, I usually have Scrivener (my writing software) read my book out loud. This helps me catch any awkward sentences. 

Next time, I’ll share some information about the self-publishing process.

In a previous post, I described how I write a draft of my story. This first draft is usually pretty rough. There may be some scenery or character descriptions that need to be beefed up, or some dialogue and pacing to improve.

Part of the reason my novellas take so long to write is that I do 3-4 rewrites. Yes, I completely rewrite each chapter, adding layers each time I go through the book. I’ve tried to rush this process by doing only one rewrite, or lighter rewrites, but it’s just too stressful for me. So I go through the book tightening scenes and improving it until I’m satisfied.

Rewrites can take from two to four weeks, depending on the length of the book. Once I’m satisfied I have the final form of the story, I send it to some beta readers and my editor. 

In my next post, I’ll share more about my editing process

Did you miss getting a review copy of my MMF standalone novella The Painters when it came out? I’ve got some copies available on Booksprout. (HURRY! They’re going fast!)

Please only sign up if you can leave a review.

***Reviews due next Thursday, July 26th.*** https://booksprout.co/arc/17163/the-painters

I just want to say thank you to all my readers. You’ve been especially patient with me not having a new release for some time. I’ve had some major life changes in the past year, but I’m working on several books at once.

As a thank you, I’m going to leave my Landscaper Series ebook box set on sale for $2.99 for a little longer. That’s $2.99 for four novellas in one.

“…My emotions ran the gamut from heartbreaking fear to utter joy… Tumultuous at times, but always sensual. The conclusion was the only viable ending, and it was a stunner!” – Lori, wee bit o’ whiskey

Amazon: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetUS
Amazon UK: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetUK
Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetCA
Amazon AUS: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetAUS
Nook: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetBN
Apple: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetiBooks
Kobo: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetKobo
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/LandscaperBoxSetSmashwords

In my last behind the scenes post, I described how I write out the beats of each story. Once I have the beats planned, I set up a new project in Scrivener, my writing software. I set up the margins, spacing, and font, and I make folders for at least twelve chapters.

When I start writing a first draft, I usually start at the beginning. First chapters are tough, so I know I’ll have to go back and fix that later. I aim for a minimum of 1,000 words per day, and Scrivener tracks my daily word count.

It’s hard to say exactly how many days or weeks (or months, lol) it takes for me to finish a first draft. It depends on how many words I hit each day, and if I write five or seven days per week. When I’m in the groove, it’s usually seven days per week. 

The last half of the book is always hard for me! I hate putting my characters through the dark moment near the end. Sometimes I’ll skip ahead and write the happy ending, and that helps. Once I finish the first draft, I need to let it rest for several days before I attempt a rewrite. 

In my next behind the scenes post, I’ll share how I do rewrites.

Have you read Books 1-4 in The Landscaper Series Box Set? If not, I marked the ebook box set down to $2.99 US for a limited time! (It’s also marked down in international Amazon stores.) Hurry to catch up on Books 1-4 before I release book 5!

Landscaper Kyle starts a fling with sexy customer Tracy Dawson, a rich housewife. When Tracy admits her husband was watching, Kyle gets ready for a beat-down. But Mr. Dawson makes Kyle an offer he can’t refuse. Kyle begins an intense relationship with the married couple. But when jealousy flares, Kyle wonders if they can resolve their differences and stay together forever.

Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon Aus

Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords