For years I thought I could write a book, and that someday I would. Off and on through the years, I thought about it, even wrote down a few ideas.
Then, I turned fifty. That was a shock!
Fifty year old me. It scared me a little to realize so much time had passed.
I realized that if I kept telling myself that “someday” I would and not actually doing something about it, chances were good I would find myself at seventy still saying, “Someday I will write a book.” So I buckled down and wrote a book. It was a fantasy novel, and it wasn’t very good, but I finished it. I learned so much from the writing. I was so proud of myself. And then I “archived” that book. Maybe in the future I’ll revive it and fix it, but for now, it’s hidden away.
Then Covid and quarantine happened. I spent a lot of time reading and thinking.
One day, I thought, “I could actually have something to show at the end of this crazy time if I start now.” I rethought my genre and started writing. I found my voice in romance–historical romance. I wrote a book. I don’t want to brag, but this one was good. Others who read it liked it enough to encourage me. So I put it through editing and published it. I wrote another, and another, (I’m working on my eighth book). I have found a new life.
During Covid, I became an author.
But marketing? I didn’t think about that. The authoring update comes now. Now that I have a series of books published, I have finally taken the time to read, research, listen to podcasts, and talk to other authors about how to find and get my work into the hands of more readers. Some methods are just not going to work for me, but I can write more.
So, this is my new plan: For every series, I will write a prequel and give it away free. For every book I write, I will also write a bonus scene or story so my readers have a little something extra after they read the novel.
This means that in addition to getting my new series ready to publish, I am going back and writing a prequel to my Illusions series. (That series begins with The Secrets We Keep).
The prequel (Under a Honeyed Moon) is almost complete, and I love Evie and Cam’s story. I can’t wait for you to read it!
I also now have all but one bonus story/scene for each of the five books in the Illusions series.
And I’m writing the prequel, some call it a freequel, to my new Love and Honor Series. (Book one is An Honorable Man).
When the prequel is complete (A Match for Minna or Minna and the Miser, which do you think is better?) Either way, when it’s finished I’ll publish the first book (shown below), which is ready and waiting.
Book One in the Love and Honor Series
Book three of the Love and Honor Series is a third of the way written. (I know. You’re asking, where is book two? Well, I’m still thinking about it).
Anyway, this is just to tell you that I have been writing and have a lot of new romance for you. I’m excited to move forward, and I’m really excited to share more love stories with you.
When an author, in any genre, writes a first draft, it often starts with messy, half-formed ideas, and the outcome needs a lot of work. To write that draft with an audience is terrifying, but that’s what I’m doing?
I’m not only writing this regency romance in front of an audience, I’m writing it according to feedback and suggestions from that audience. Week by week, I read comments from those who listen to the previous week’s story. Then I’m writing the next section for your listening pleasure.
Every weekend, I upload a video where I read the week’s writing. I am anxious, not knowing beforehand exactly where we’ll go. But I am also excited. I’m challenged, and I am learning new things, improving my craft, and talking with my readers. It’s scary fun.
So, welcome to my new writing adventure. Join me on YouTube at Gigi Lynn for romance. I’ve put up two “episodes” so far. Listen and tell me what you think should happen next.
I did it. I made a YouTube video. I told the world that I am going to be writing a novel based on your feedback. Week by week, I will write a new installment, or episode. This is scary enough, but I will be reading it aloud on my YouTube.
Look for: Gigi Lynn For Romance
Why, you ask?
I want to write my sweet romance novels. I want you and your friends to read them. That already is outside any ‘comfort zone.’ But an amazing thing I have found since beginning this writing journey is that I am not content to write formulaically. I need to try new things. I need to challenge myself to get better with each novel. Which means I need to push myself to do uncomfortable things.
I hope you will join me for a few minutes each week as I discover with you Corinna’s and Nora’s stories. Tell me what you think. Tell me what you think needs to happen next. (the discussion board in on the main menu on the site here).
Recently I played a game. I asked followers on social media to choose the romance trope of my next novel. (You chose unrequited love).
I began writing right away, even though I’m working on another Romance, Under a Honeyed Moon, as well. Yes, it is a challenge to write two novels concurrently, but I’m excited about it.
I had so much fun talking with you about possible tropes that I want to try something new. I will read the first part of this novel on my new YouTube channel:
Gigi Lynn for romance
As I contemplated this kind of collaboration, I decided it would be best–and fun too–to tell the story through letters. An epistolary novel. Corinna, who is a minor character in An Honorable Man, is writing to her best friend, Honora (Nora). She is also writing to a gentleman in Paris about some research he has done. Now, you must know, a lady does not correspond with a man to whom she is not engaged. Corinna circumvents this convention by using her brother’s name. After all, the gentleman is in Paris. He will never find out.
If you are interested, I will read the entire novel as I go along. Through the process, we can discuss it. I would love your input–your ideas about what should happen next. We could write this novel together. (I’ll start reading the end of this week and post every week or two. If there’s enough interest, I’ll keep posting until we have our Happily Every After.
Inspiration image via Dall i
We can discuss the development of the novel on the site. I added a discussion board to the menu at the top of the page. Additionally, I do have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gigi.lynn8
So, who is in for the adventure of writing a new novel with me? I can’t wait!
P.S. An Honorable Man is at the editor. I plan to release this sweet regency romance in March. Get ready to curl up by the fire and join impoverished Lady Ballantyne (Cecily) and wealthy common man, Mr. Hatton as they help each other right into love. (If you’d like to be an ARC reader, I will send a sign-up form in my next love note (newsletter).
My new romance novel, Under a Honeyed Moon is almost finished! It has Cinderella and Forced Marriage Tropes and is so, so fun. Lord Camden (Cam) and Lady Evelyn (Evie) are a delight. I hope to have it ready for an April/May release.
Romance readers! Three new romance novels coming in the next few months! My latest finished novel, An Honorable Man is still with the editor. It is taking longer than anticipated because she had a family tragedy. It is terrible for her, and sadly, I think this will push back the release of An Honorable Man until March.
But I can’t just wait around. Always, always on the the next book. So mid-January, I started reworking my Nanowrimo novella, working title Honeyed Moon. Or perhaps, Under a Honeyed Moon. I love this story of Lady Evelyn, who is ill-treated by her aunt, uncle, and two cousins. (We’ve got a little bit of Cinderella trope here). She spends most of her time hidden away in the gardens and greenhouse, until the night that the Marquess, Lord Camden stops over on his way to London.
Often as I have written, I have laughed out loud. I love these characters.
Would you like a little sneak peak of a scene? This is an excerpt from Chapter Two:
Cam took a deep breath of blessedly fresh air. He didn’t want to be seen from the windows by any wakeful resident, so he stepped away from the house and moved into the deeper shadows of the trees. Then from habit, he began a silent patrol around the perimeter of the house. The only disturbances were the sound of night animals rustling in the bush
Tap, tap. Cam crouched behind a linden bush and listened.
The tapping was replaced by a rattle. He parted a branch and looked back toward the house. In the moonlight he saw a man lean down to pick up a few pebbles before pulling back his arm to throw them at a second-floor window.
“Evie,” he whispered called. “Wake up.”
Cam shook his head in disbelief. He had just wanted a few minutes of peace, but here he was stuck in the bushes, watching a ridiculous young man seek a furtive tryst. Was he going to be treated to a small town’s enactment of Romeo and Juliet?
The supplicant muttered and bent to pick up another handful of pebbles but stopped when there was a click and the slide of a window sash.
Cam rolled his eyes. Was he ever this young? He looked up, and his jaw dropped.
A woman in a worn night rail leaned out the window. Her long, flaxen hair flowed around her fascinating, moonlit face. She held a brush she had obviously just been using and shook it at the unfortunate boy below.
Cam blinked and looked again. Where had this beauty been during the party? Mrs. Bellerton didn’t seem the type to employ attractive housemaids.
“Allen, what are you thinking? You’ll wake the whole house,” she whispered.
“You have to help me.” Cam shook his head as the callow youth begged.
“Go home and come to the greenhouse tomorrow,” she hissed. “You know I’ll help you however I can.”
Cam fought a smile. She didn’t sound as desperately infatuated as the boy. Then he frowned. But apparently, they had a set meeting place.
“Tomorrow will be too late. I need you now.”
“Shh.” She disappeared for a few seconds. When she came back, she leaned further out the window, distracting Cam with the breathtaking view. She spoke so softly, he had to force himself to concentrate on what she was saying. “If you wake my aunt, we’ll both be in the devil’s own scrape. She’ll make you marry me. You know she’d wash her hands of me and rejoice. Do you want that?”
Allen took three steps backwards. “That would be a disaster.”
Cam shook his head and downgraded his estimate of poor Allen’s intelligence. Was he a fool? He looked up at the girl again. Yes, this Allen was obviously not right in the head. Then the girl’s words came together in Cam’s mind.
She said her aunt would force them to marry. This was the niece? He looked again. How could this be the same pale and drab girl he’d been introduced to briefly earlier? Then he remembered her exceptional eyes. Her aunt was probably smarter than he had thought to hide this light under a bushel so that she could put forward her little sharp-nosed daughter.
What was this girl’s name? Evie, the boy had called her. Oh yes, Lady Evelyn Slade.
“You don’t have to look so horrified,” she complained. “As it happens, I don’t particularly want to marry you either.”
Allen looked around as if waiting to be frog-marched to the altar. Then he bravely stepped forward again. “Evie, please.”
With a sigh of exasperation, the lady asked, “What is so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“Dinah’s parents are going to force her to marry Lord Camden.”
Lady Evelyn blinked those incredible eyes and shook her head.
But the boy continued, “He’s been taken in by her beauty, and they think they can catch him in a compromising—”
Cam swallowed his protest. This was outside of enough. It was past time that he left these children to their folly or stepped forward to disabuse them of–
A burst of musical laughter stopped him, and he found himself smiling as he watched her mirth.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Allen. Did you watch Lord Camden at all tonight? He’s not the kind of man that’s going to be taken in by a pair of marplots from Bexhill.”
Cam settled again to listen. He was relieved that one of these children had some intelligence.
She continued, “He’s too shrewd to fall for any woman looking for a fortune and title, let alone a silly seventeen-year-old who hasn’t even been presented yet, no matter how beautiful she is. He’d be much more likely to throttle her than marry her.”
Cam didn’t know whether to feel insulted or complimented, but young Allen fired up in umbrage. “Dinah is not silly. She is the most beautiful woman in the world. Any man would want to marry her.”
Lady Slade folded her arms and rested them on the window ledge. Once again Cam was distracted for a few moments by the view of the creamy skin and rich curves and missed some of what she said. “. . . for a full ten minutes after supper, and all she talked about was the color and pattern of her dresses, her slippers, and her hats.”
Allen huffed. “Just because you don’t care a fig what you wear doesn’t mean other women don’t. I daresay most women think of such things. Why shouldn’t Dinah have the best of everything?”
Lady Evelyn looked grim, and Cam had a sudden urge to plant a facer on the boy.
Her expression wasn’t lost on Allen. “Oh, don’t get into a pet. It’s natural that you wouldn’t understand since you’re not beautiful like Dinah is.”
The Lady tightened her lips even more and shook her head.
Cam shook his head at the same time. Chaucer had written about familiarity breeding contempt, but this was taking it too far. He couldn’t remember a time when he had been so affected by a woman’s appearance, especially after only a brief meeting, as he was by this unconventional, quick witted, undeniably beautiful girl. What kind of fool couldn’t see the possibilities of her full lips and those fascinating, oddly colored, tilted eyes or the intelligence shining out of them? As a gentleman, he was trying not to refine too much on her surprisingly sumptuous form, but a man would have to be blind not to notice and appreciate.
While he contemplated her attractions, the conversation between the two youths deteriorated into an argument that was growing in volume.
Allen said, “If you’d bother to take a little more care in what you wore, I’m sure you’d be more the thing.”
Lady Evelyn narrowed her eyes. “You think I like wearing mushroom, or puce, or olive, or any of the other awful-colored gowns my aunt forces upon me?”
Allen had the grace to look remorseful. “I’m sorry, Evie. You’re not so bad. When you’re working in your greenhouse, you sometimes look quite pretty.”
She sighed, and one side of her lips lifted in a wry smile. “How did you distract me? Let’s return to your problem. I can assure you that Lord Camden would never allow himself to be caught in a Parson’s trap. He would see through any snare they thought to set.” She smiled. “Your latest infatuation is safe. She won’t be marrying Lord Camden.”
Allen nodded. “You’re right. He won’t get her because we have a plan. We’re going to run away and—”
She gasped. “Allen, you can’t! I know you’re enamored now but wait six months. It will probably pass.”
“I can’t believe you would tell me that. You think I’m so inconstant that I would—”
She lowered her brow and murmured, “Martina Johnson. Joane Darnell.”
He glared. “Those were just passing fancies. What I feel for Dinah is real and lasting. We love each other.”
The Lady Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment before she said, “Wait over there behind those bushes. I’ll get dressed and come down.”
If you liked this little teaser, I’ll tell you that this novel should be ready for beta readers in March. I’ll send out an invitation.
But I just realized I haven’t told you about the second novel I am working on concurrently. I don’t have time and space here to do it justice, so watch for the next post.
A new regency romance for you to read, An Honorable Man is with the editor! After that, it will spend a couple of weeks with ARC readers. ARC readers, as you probably know, receive a free copy of the novel with the understanding that they will read it in a timely manner and leave an honest review, for me on Amazon and Goodreads.
I plan to release this regency romance novel to the public in February.
Let me share the back of the book Blurb with you:
Beginning of blurb– Nobility and Honor are not always the same . . . Lady Cecily Ballantyne is beautiful, refined, and . . . days away from being evicted. How can an impoverished, noble widow support her five-year-old daughter?
Mr. Nyles J. Hatton is successful, wealthy, and . . . common. He wants the impossible—to move into the exclusive sphere of the nobility.
But when Mr. Hatton overhears Lady Cecily ask a titled gentleman for help finding work, he proposes a better idea, the perfect bargain. Lady Ballantyne will transform Mr. Hatton so he can move among the ton, and he will provide a safe home for her and her daughter and position for which she is uniquely suited.
But what if she finds his rough honesty tempting? What if he finds her graceful courage irresistible? And who is it that threatens Cecily, determined to stop both her and Mr. Hatton from entering into society? –End of Blurb
What do you think? Are you ready to settle in with Cecily as she “makes over” Mr. Hatton?
You probably have never heard of Nanowrimo, but for the last few years, I’ve been wanting to try it. Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This world-wide event is held every November–Yes, I’m sorry to say, it is in November.
When an author or aspiring author signs up for Nanowrimo, they accept the challenge to begin a new novel on November 1, and try to write 50,000 words by the end of the month. The idea is that by the end of the month, you will have finished a short novel. Think of it–a new romance novel in one month!
I want to tell you about my month long experience. First, let me say, I did not cheat. I planned start a brand new novel that has been percolating in the back of my mind for the last few months. The main character of this first in a new series is Angelica, or Angel as her family calls her, so I’ll use Angel as the working title for now.
Though I didn’t cheat, I also didn’t follow the rules exactly. I just could not begin Angel before I finished An Honorable Man. So, I spent the first 5-6 days finishing the last 11,000 words of this novel. I love it so much, I had a hard time moving on. I just wanted to go back and start editing so I can get it into your hands as soon as possible. But I held strong and kept writing.
So, even though I didn’t begin with the new work on November 1, I planned to write a whole new work in November. I would just start on the 6th. Then, the night before I started Angel, I had this idea for a romance novella. It came into my mind almost fully formed in terms of plotting and characters. I made a sudden departure from my plan and started writing a totally new romance novella.
This is Lady Evelyn’s story. It has some Cinderella elements and then turns into a forced marriage trope. The working title is Honeyed Moon. I worked through the bulk of the month telling the story of Evie and Cam (Lord Camden). I get chills when I think of this novella, which I do believe I will add to in editing. I think it needs to be a full length novel.
So, there I am on Thanksgiving day, surrounded by my family (all 37 of them). I’ve finished for former Work In Progress (An Honorable Man). I’ve finished the surprise Novella (Honeyed Moon). But I am still 5000 words shy of the 50,000 word mark.
So, after my family left, I went back to the original plan and began my new series with Angel and Ramsay’s story. I’m four chapters into that story.
Three novels in various stages in one month. I’m astounded, and tired. Mostly, I am so excited to bring these romances to you. In a perfect world, you’ll have one in January, one in March, and one in May/June. Cross your fingers for me. I’m working furiously.
Let’s Bring Back the Look (you know the one), the Gentle Touch, the Sweet Awareness?
Now, I really love a good kissing scene. Who doesn’t? But sometimes I feel cheated when a book or movie rushes right to that kiss and even hurries on past the kiss without giving me time to appreciate the romantic journey.
Does anyone else feel like we’ve left some sweet, important, fulfilling, delightful steps in romance behind?
A meeting of eyes, sigh! The brush of a hand, maybe even accidentally, oh my heart. (Who doesn’t love Mr. Darcy’s hand clench after helping Lizzie into her carriage?) Such small things, except they’re not. These too are the essence of romance.
And these things aren’t just for the meet cute or start of a new relationship. These are some of the signs of continuing love. This is one way that we nurture our relationships.
Do you remember the first time a love interest looked at you with special attention? Touched you? Held your hand? Put his/her arm around you? I hope you felt that thrill. I hope you still do. And I hope that in addition to the kissing scene, you love to read, or view, the simple steps in the dance of love.
So, hold hands, give a hug–and hold on for longer. Think about a feel those little, gentle touches. Don’t miss out on these lovely, simple, treasured Romantic gestures.
This is another stretching myself, out of my comfort zone writing experience. I wrote a Halloween Tale. A clean/sweet Gothic Regency Romance Short Story. (It’s a longish short story).
And I loved it! I couldn’t stop writing. It was so fun.
It’s Free!! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
It’s a commonly held belief that extensive reading improves writing. I’m not sure that’s always true. Mostly when I read, I suspend my disbelief and enter the world of the book. I ride along with the main character and just enjoy the experience. Reading is fun, and rewarding, and fabulous!
I’m not sure that kind of reading makes me a better writer, but I love it.
Now, when I buckle down and read critically (looking at structure, tone, character arc, plot development, etc.), reading probably improves my writing. I ask questions. How did this author build tension? What is the main character’s goal? How does the author establish that goal and build conflict? I watch to see if the beginning leads naturally to the next part, and to the next. Are there big leaps that leave me behind? Are the character’s actions consistent their personality?
Even though it’s fiction, is the world credible? Are the characters believable? Do they fit into the world?
(A little rant here. I struggle when I’m reading a historical romance and the heroine is–let’s be honest–a 21st century girl. Unless it’s a time travel novel. That regency, or Victorian lady may be forward thinking. She may be a maverick, but she still has to live with the mores and expectations of her time. Lizzie Bennett challenged and pushed against traditional feminine expectations, but she knew her world. She was an early 19th century woman).
Back now to critical reading. Are you a critical reader? Do you mentally “fix” the novels that you read? Do you have books you just cannot finish because of these kind of weaknesses.
If you are a critical reader, I really want to meet you. I want your input on my writing. I’m building a beta-reading team. If this is something that interests you , email me.
