Georgia Cates's Blog, page 2

Welcome to the first installment of our 12-part series on how to write a novella with a hook and use it as a powerful tool to engage your readers. Over the next several months, we’ll dive deep into crafting a novella that captures the reader’s attention and serves as an effective marketing strategy for your author platform. Starting with a strong hook is key to writing a novella that engages readers from the very first page. Find your inspiration in every moment. What is a Novella?
A novella is a short novel, typically ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 words. It’s longer than a short story but more concise than a full-length novel. The novella’s compact nature makes it a perfect format for exploring a focused storyline with a limited cast of characters. For authors, especially those just starting out or looking to expand their reach, writing a novella can be a great way to showcase your storytelling skills without committing to a lengthy manuscript. Why Write a Novella?
There are several reasons why you might choose to write a novella:

Brevity and Focus: Novellas allow you to tell a story precisely. You can hone in on a single plotline or theme without developing extensive subplots.Reader Engagement: In today’s fast-paced world, many readers appreciate shorter works they can finish in a single sitting. A well-crafted novella can leave a lasting impact, making readers eager for more.Marketing Tool: Offering a novella as a freebie on your website is a fantastic way to attract new readers and build your email list. It provides a low-commitment introduction to your writing style and can guide your longer works.Creative Experimentation: The novella format allows you to experiment with new genres, narrative structures, or character types without the pressure of a full-length novel. It’s a playground for your creativity. A blank page holds endless possibilities. You can start your novella journey by finding the perfect hook to captivate readers from the first word. What to Expect in This Series
Throughout this series, we’ll guide you through every step of the novella-writing process:Finding Your Hook: We’ll explore how to identify a compelling idea that will grab your readers from the first page.Plotting and Structure: Learn how to plot your novella to maintain momentum and ensure a satisfying story arc.Character Development: Discover how to create memorable, dynamic characters within the limited word count of a novella.Editing and Polishing: We’ll discuss how to refine your novella, from self-editing tips to working with a professional editor.Using Your Novella as a Freebie: Finally, we’ll cover how to leverage your novella as a marketing tool, offering it as a freebie to grow your audience.
By the end of this series, you’ll have all the tools you need to write a captivating novella and use it effectively to connect with your readers. So, whether you’re a seasoned author or just starting out, join us on this journey to master the art of novella writing.

Stay tuned for next month’s post, where we’ll dive into how to find that all-important hook that will make your novella irresistible. Happy writing!

New Release!
Waiting for my Queen: A Dark Mafia Romance just became available!



Buy Links

Giveaway happening on my Facebook Page

Waiting for my Queen

BLURB--

Emilia--
All I’ve ever wanted was to marry for love.
But girls like me don’t have that luxury.
We are used as pawns in a game we can’t control.
The game? It’s called Mafia.
I was foolish enough to try to change the rules… and I lost.

Luca--
She was promised to me years ago.
And he dared to take her from me.
Dared to touch what was mine.
I put an end to that.
I hope he’s enjoying the view from his dirt room.

Emilia--
My beloved’s killer placed a ruby ring on my finger and called me his queen.
But that red gem symbolizes something different for me.
It represents the blood shed by those I love most.
Hell was empty the day we wed.
Because the devil was standing before me and said “I do.”

Luca--
I saw her as a possession.
A shiny toy I didn’t want other boys to play with.
But she’s so much more.
Beautiful and brave and strong and broken all at once.
She tastes like everything I’ve ever wanted.

Emilia--
Hidden and patient.
I wait for the perfect time to seek my revenge.
But slowly, I feel him possessing me.
His heart is full of darkness… and I still want every inch of him.
Hard as I try, I can’t escape loving this beautiful monster.

Luca--
I’m waiting patiently because I already know that she’s mine.
Mine in a way that no one will ever understand.
Even if she hasn’t yet realized it.
For love, I’d do anything.
For her, I’d do everything.

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Endurance, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Audible. Listeners can buy the audiobook now, and when it releases on March 6, 2018, it will be in your librariy and available for download. Narrated by: Jennifer Mack, Antony Ferguson

Series: The Sin Trilogy, Book 4

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Release date: 03-06-18

Language: English

​Publisher: Audible Studios

This is not a drill. This is happening tomorrow, people!
10 authors are coming together to bring you 10 novellas based on the WANTED series from Kelly Elliott, set in Mason, Texas. All 10 books release on December 6th. Available only on Kindle and KU. No pre-order.
Coming from me within the WANTED series…

ADORED—
My name is Judd Mathews and I have it all: money, good looks, success. Fans buy my music and scream my name. My life is a charmed one… until my world is turned onto its head by a girl. Scarlett Mathews.
A baby girl. 
My newborn daughter.
Her mother is gone, and she has no one in this world but me. This delicate little girl couldn’t have been born to a more unsuitable father… until Leighton Mitchell opens my eyes and makes me see things differently.
Leighton is not my typical kind of woman. She does not get drunk on whiskey or chase country music stars for a chance at a one-night stand on a tour bus. She’s nurturing, wholesome, respectable… and easily the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She loves my daughter. Adores her. And that makes it very easy to see that she belongs in Scarlett’s life. And mine.

Buy Link: http://amzn.to/2jlQ1Wq

#adored #awantednovella #kindleworlds #kindleunlimited

Men of Lovibond Collection: Tap, Stout, and Porter are in a bundle now and available on all platforms.

Amazon: amzn.to/2z6W6MX
Barnes & Noble: goo.gl/dkx2Tv
Kobo: goo.gl/oUWWrx
iBooks: goo.gl/GsohQ2
Google Play: goo.gl/1CThfK

​(In case you missed it, all of my books will be going platform wide over the coming weeks.)

Amazon --> http://amzn.to/2ifa6iZ

The Fellowship saga continues with Kieran and Westlyn's story in this standalone spinoff of The Sin Trilogy.


Captor becomes lover…

I’m a marksman. Mobster. Deadly assassin.
My job is to protect my brotherhood, but that isn’t my only responsibility.

I’m Kieran Hendry, the up-and-coming leader of The Order, and a new duty calls. I must take a wife.

A wife I don’t know.
A wife born into a position at the top of The Fellowship hierarchy.
A wife who will forge a strong alliance between her brotherhood and mine.
A wife I don’t want.

I knew next to nothing about Westlyn Breckenridge when I abducted her, but I quickly discover that she’s intelligent, strong, defiant, selfless. And beautiful.

One night with her is all it takes for me to see that she is no typical Mafia princess. I’m hopeful this arranged marriage won’t be the miserable union I imagined it to be. But convincing my intended to give us a chance won’t be easy when she sees me as the enemy. The brute who kidnapped her. The vile fiend who threatened to do as he wished with her body.

It’s true. I am all those things. I had cruel intentions. But everything has changed. My affection for her is unexpected. My love, unintended.

***Unintended can be read as a standalone novel although it is a novel accompanying The Sin Trilogy. It is best enjoyed after reading The Sin Trilogy and Endurance: A Sin Series Standalone novel.

Amazon --> http://amzn.to/2ifa6iZ

Unintended by Georgia Cates

Amazon --> http://amzn.to/2ifa6iZ The Fellowship saga continues with Kieran and Westlyn's story in this standalone spinoff of The Sin Trilogy.


Captor becomes lover…

I’m a marksman. Mobster. Deadly assassin. 
My job is to protect my brotherhood, but that isn’t my only responsibility. 

I’m Kieran Hendry, the up-and-coming leader of The Order, and a new duty calls. I must take a wife. 

A wife I don’t know. 
A wife born into a position at the top of The Fellowship hierarchy.
A wife who will forge a strong alliance between her brotherhood and mine. 
A wife I don’t want.

I knew next to nothing about Westlyn Breckenridge when I abducted her, but I quickly discover that she’s intelligent, strong, defiant, selfless. And beautiful.

One night with her is all it takes for me to see that she is no typical Mafia princess. I’m hopeful this arranged marriage won’t be the miserable union I imagined it to be. But convincing my intended to give us a chance won’t be easy when she sees me as the enemy. The brute who kidnapped her. The vile fiend who threatened to do as he wished with her body.

It’s true. I am all those things. I had cruel intentions. But everything has changed. My affection for her is unexpected. My love, unintended.

***Unintended can be read as a standalone novel although it is a novel accompanying The Sin Trilogy. It is best enjoyed after reading The Sin Trilogy and Endurance: A Sin Series Standalone novel. Amazon --> http://amzn.to/2ifa6iZ

This day.

It’s been a jack-in-the-box ever since I became a man. Dormant, but hiding inside its refuge, always threatening to make an appearance at any time. Each day has represented a crank of the handle controlling its release.

Today, it escaped.

It’s time for me to fulfill my obligation to my new brotherhood. It’s the burden that comes with being in a leadership role.

I must take a wife.

A wife I don’t know. A wife born into a position at the top of a hierarchy. A wife who will forge a strong alliance between The Order and The Fellowship.

A wife I don’t want
This day.

It’s been a jack-in-the-box ever since I became a man. Dormant, but hiding inside its refuge, always threatening to make an appearance at any time. Each day has represented a crank of the handle controlling its release.

Today, it escaped.

It’s time for me to fulfill my obligation to my new brotherhood. It’s the burden that comes with being in a leadership role.

I must take a wife.

A wife I don’t know. A wife born into a position at the top of a hierarchy. A wife who will forge a strong alliance between The Order and The Fellowship.

A wife I don’t want.

I am Kieran Hendry. Eldest son of Lennox Hendry and Arabella Grieves Hendry, the new leaders of The Order. Many would kill to be in their position. Literally. But that isn’t how the brotherhood works. We are born into the role. Like royalty.

My mother has been called home to preside over the brotherhood that her father and brother once led. My dad will act on her behalf until I’m ready to take my place as the leader of these people. My first act as their future leader will be to enter into a marriage treaty with a Fellowship woman. Bring peace between The Order and their enemy, The Fellowship.

I’ve been conditioned to accept an arranged marriage as my fate for as long as I can remember. Doesn’t make it any easier though.

I always thought I’d marry from within The Syndicate, the brotherhood in which I was raised. I expected to forge a union with a woman I’d known my entire life, whose position within my brotherhood would strengthen my claim to leadership in the event of my paternal uncle’s and cousins’ deaths. A woman with virtue and purity who’d saved herself for her husband. Who the hell knows what I’ll be getting with a woman from The Fellowship?

The Fellowship killed my maternal uncle and the brothers want retribution. They demand blood. A lot of it. But vengeance isn’t our way. Revenge and death only yield rotting corpses. That isn’t profitable: a dead man can’t make money for us. Alliances. Those yield gain. Profit is always our focus.

My father pours two whiskies and brings one to me. “I know you need this; I still haven’t forgotten what it felt like to hear my father tell me that I was going to marry a woman from The Order as part of a marriage treaty alliance.”

I need more than one whisky. “I don’t want a wife.”

“I don’t have to tell you that what you want doesn’t matter. You’re a Grieves and a Hendry. Future leader of The Order. Being at the helm of this organization means you don’t get a choice. It’s your duty to strengthen your brotherhood with an advantageous marriage. You will marry a woman from The Fellowship.” 

This marriage isn’t something I can refuse. “Do I at least get to choose which woman I’ll marry?”

“You have three choices.” Well, at least there’s that. “The most desirable is Abram Breckenridge’s older daughter, Evanna. The next would be his younger daughter, Westlyn. Last choice is Sinclair’s sister-in-law. Not a Breckenridge, or even a member of The Fellowship yet, but she will be soon.”

“Why is the sister-in-law a consideration?”

“She’s the sister of Bleu Breckenridge. Sinclair will do whatever it takes to maintain Ellison’s safety because he wants to keep his wife happy.”

An American who wasn’t raised in a brotherhood. “She’ll be weak.”

“Agreed. Hence the reason she’s your third choice. You’ll only marry her if the other choices don’t work out.”

I’ve heard of Abram Breckenridge. None of it good. “What do you know about Abram’s daughters?”

“Not a lot yet, but I’ve placed both under surveillance. We’ll learn as much as we can before you choose.”

It won’t matter that The Order is under new leadership. “The Fellowship isn’t going to willingly agree to an alliance with us, and Thane Breckenridge isn’t going to hand over one of his nieces as a treaty bride.”

“That’s why we’re going to force his hand by taking the bride of your choosing. He’ll have no choice but to consider our proposition.” My father pauses a moment. “And as a symbol of our good intention, I’m going to offer Shaw in marriage to his younger son or nephew.”

Shaw is only eighteen. Still a child. And so headstrong. She has dreams and plans and ideas about the way she wants her life to go. My sister won’t take well to being told she must marry anyone, treaty for the well-being of the brotherhood or not. “Won’t my marriage suffice so Shaw doesn’t have to marry?”

“Not with The Fellowship. There’s too much bad blood between them and The Order. We have to propose an equal offering, or they’ll never consider it.”

“When is this going to happen?”

“As soon as you decide which woman you want.” 

I don’t want any of them. 

“I’ll have a full report from the surveillance by the end of the week.”

“Then I guess I’m claiming a wife this weekend.” Which means I’m getting laid. I’m not pissed off about that.

“You’ll need to bind your union to her as soon as possible.” Bind my union. He means impregnate her. “Once your bairn is inside her, the claiming can’t be undone by anyone.”

A bairn. I don’t want that either.

I was born nine months after my parents married. My father didn’t waste any time binding his union with my mother. We’ve never discussed it, but I’m guessing he was persuaded to do so by his father just as he’s doing with me now. “How did you feel when Grandfather told you that you were going to marry Mother?”

“I wasn’t happy, but I knew taking Arabella as my wife was my duty to the brotherhood. Your mother and I both understood, and we made the most out of it.”

Maybe theirs hasn’t been a fairy tale romance, but my parents love and respect each other. And they share a common goal: they want the best for The Syndicate and The Order. That includes making this alliance with The Fellowship.

I’m the future leader of The Order. It’s my job to ensure the prosperity of my brotherhood and those we’re in alliance with. If that means taking a Fellowship woman as a wife and putting my child inside her then that’s what I’ll do.

​Even if it’s the last thing on earth that I want. Buy Now >>>

Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance

Cover Design: Indie Formatting Services

Release Date: October 20, 2017

US: http://amzn.to/2xOOxcM
#KU

BLURB

Captor becomes lover…

I’m a marksman. Mobster. Deadly assassin.
My job is to protect my brotherhood, but that isn’t my only responsibility.

I’m Kieran Hendry, the up-and-coming leader of The Order, and a new duty calls. I must take a wife.

A wife I don’t know.
A wife born into a position at the top of The Fellowship hierarchy.
A wife who will forge a strong alliance between her brotherhood and mine.
A wife I don’t want.

I knew next to nothing about Westlyn Breckenridge when I abducted her, but I quickly discover that she’s intelligent, strong, defiant, selfless. And beautiful.

One night with her is all it takes for me to see that she is no typical Mafia princess. I’m hopeful this arranged marriage won’t be the miserable union I imagined it to be. But convincing my intended to give us a chance won’t be easy when she sees me as the enemy. The brute who kidnapped her. The vile fiend who threatened to do as he wished with her body.

It’s true. I am all those things. I had cruel intentions. But everything has changed. My affection for her is unexpected. My love, unintended.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Unintended by Georgia Cates