Robin Stone's Blog, page 9

Wow! Two years ago today, I was working hard to publish my first three books…all at once, and a week before Christmas?
What the hell was I thinking??  I was thinking that I wasn’t going to let another year go by without publishing my books, even if it meant cramming all three books into the last few weeks of 2015.
It’s been a wild ride! I’ve published 8 books and 1 box set, and I’m working on my 9th.

THANK YOU to the readers who took a chance on a new author. Thank you to my beta readers, ARC readers, book buyers, reviewers, author friends, social media followers, designers, my editor, and everyone who’s helped me along the way. I try to thank everyone individually but wanted to give a big shout-out to everyone in my little Robin Stone world.
The last 18 months have been rough due to health problems, but I’m really starting to feel better now. Thanks for being patient during the time it’s taken me to get back into writing.

I went away on a long girl’s weekend, and now I’m back! Took a much-needed break from social media, writing, and promotion.
It was glorious not having to do laundry, cook, or dishes. I just hung out with friends and talked and ate! 

There’s a Twitter hashtag today called #WhyIWrite…I thought I’d talk about why I write my erotic books.
I erotic romance, but I couldn’t find enough of the kind of erotic romance *I* wanted to read. I wanted strong female characters who weren’t afraid to ask for what they wanted in bed. I wanted female characters with more mainstream jobs and interests…women I could relate to.
I wanted MOAR SEX! Some of the books I was reading didn’t have enough…sex? LOL! I wanted more explicit scenes, and I wanted men who waited and asked for consent and checked in with their partners. I was finding a lot of alpha-holes who were pushy to the point of discomfort/ickiness for me.

Plus: handyman heroes. ❤️ I’m seeing more books with handyman heroes, so that’s fun.

I think it’s finally time to announce that I’m writing a new book!
No finish or release date yet. Just wanted to let you know a new book is in the pipeline!
And that word count of 50,000? That’s a stretch goal for me. I usually write novellas, but this one could be novel length. This word count window says “short story”, but that’s just my favorite template in Scrivener, I can make it any length.

It’s still hard for me to write for long stretches, but I’ve been working here and there and somehow managed to hit 30,000 words. Feeling better every day, but the fatigue is still there. (For those new to me, I had surgery in August.)
Feels good to write again.

I wanted to give a short update on my health. I’ve been having health problems for years, and I had surgery in August. Recovery has been hard for me. I’m used to GOGOGO behavior as an indie author, and I’ve really had to slow down and work on healing in 2017.
Mr. Stone has been taking good care of me and handling house chores. I think about writing every day. I’ve written a little, and hope to get back to my usual writing schedule this fall. Thank you for keeping up with me; I have more dirty stories to tell!

Have you signed up to attend this year’s FILWNE reader/author conference on October 13th & 14th? It’s coming up fast, and reader spots are still available!

– Friday October 13th and Saturday October 14th of THIS year, 2017

– Location: Manchester, NH. Free shuttle service to and from Manchester/Boston airport provided by hotel.

– Conference fee only $89

– Awesome goody bags with free books and more

– Lots of interaction with romance authors during socials, meals, and workshops

– Hotel rooms only $99 per night and include breakfast

– TONS of gift basket giveaways

– Free admission to Saturday’s author book signing; pay only for books you’d like to buy

– Halloween costume contest during dinner. Costumes are optional.
http://www.fallinlovewithnewengland.com/
Here’s a list of authors attending the conference. 
Hope to see you there!

HOME from surgery and feeling…pretty good, actually. Doctor said it went very well. They gave me good drugs. Heading up to bed. DH is fetching everything for me. Might be able to eat a small thing later, like toast with jelly. (That’s my favorite when I’m sick.)
I have laid in a good stash of ebooks and paper books. I have tv shows and movies marked to watch on Amazon prime and Netflix. Calendar is CLEARED! Sheets are clean and bed is made up with many pillows!
Thank you for all the kind words. Looking forward to writing again when I feel better.

Health Issues
I haven’t discussed this publicly yet, but I’ve been having major health issues for several years. I have chronic pain, which makes writing difficult. I manage, but it means I can’t release as many books as I’d like. After many, many doctor visits and research, I’ve finally gotten to the bottom of my problem(s).
I’m having a hysterectomy in August. Things are very unpredictable at the moment, and it’s very hard to write.
I need to get things organized so I can rest after the surgery. Mr. Stone will be taking time off to take care of me. I have several doctor appointments, and loads of paperwork and phone calls to sort out, and that’s taking up a lot of time.
I’m going to feel so much better after this surgery. I’m working on a new book, but I can’t promise a release date at the moment.

Please don’t forget about me! I’ll share updates to keep you posted about my healing. I hate to take time off from writing, but I need to rest and heal so I can write more books.
Going forward:

– I’ll keep sending these newsletters, and post info on my site: www.robin-stone.net

– I’ll continue to post on Facebook and Twitter when I can, because I love keeping up with all of you.

– I will be writing and publishing more books when I start feeling better.
Thank you for supporting my work so far. I truly appreciate every book purchase you make, every comment and email you write. You can reply to this email, or message me on social media if you’d like to chat. It might take me a few days to respond, but I will write back.

My MMF book The Painters will be available in print in the fall.

“There are some really lovely little scenes which show great humor, and some which are very sensitively written…just super hot and the thought that it has a future makes it even more pleasing.” – Ruthie T, Goodreads
“Robin Stone writes menage romance novels with hunky blue-collar heroes, and nobody does it better.” – Melanie, Goodreads
“The sex scenes were HOT and even the shower scene left a little for your imagination which made it even hotter.” – Mary, Amazon
If you can’t wait, here are links to the ebook: 
Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AUS

Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Smashwords | Excitica

I’m excited about my newest book, The Carpenter, my first M/M novella. It released in early May to Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

The reviews are coming in, and I’m enjoying them immensely. I received one of the best reviews ever for this book; I was so touched.
“…This is a second-chance love story, and it may just be the steamiest MM romance I’ve ever read… Grant and Adam are both believable and likable. They work through things the way committed lovers do. They consider things from the point of view of a life together, rather than ‘what’s in it for me’. Their love/sex scenes are beautiful, sweet and scorchingly hot, perfectly described by the author’s spare and evocative prose. Robin Stone writes some of the most moving and engaging erotica out there, and The Carpenter is one of her very best… – Melanie S, Amazon reader
Thanks, Melanie!
Buy links for The Carpenter:
Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AUS