To the release of my debut historical fantasy romance!
I was invited to write a novella for an anthology with five other authors. The only requirement for my story was I had to include 6 words:
Medallion
Betrayal
Flag
Traitor
Voyage
Lawless
I chose to set my story in Persia, circa 400 BC
What it’s about:
The ancient kingdom of Bithynia is in turmoil. Their beloved king has died. His only child and heir is young, female, and unmarried.
Shadi has been raised to take the throne, but her council doubts her fitness to rule. They want her to marry–a man of their choosing. But Shadi has plans and dreams of her own.
They plan a contest, a series of challenges to test the strength, wisdom, and courage of the men who flock to the capital, hoping to win her hand.
But there is one man, constant, protective, and true, though he is not one of the contestants.
During the contest, her people are threatened, Shadi must act. And her faithful Captain is by her side.
Is the greatest treasure in the coveted crown? Or is it hidden deep in the heart of a hero?
I began the year publishing two regency romance novels. Dear Lord Wycliffe, Book 2 of my Rebel Hearts Series.
A month later, I released Under a Honeyed Moon, a stand alone novel, only slightly related to my first series, Illusions.
Such a good beginning to the year, right?
I immediately went back to work on Brothers’ Tangle, Book 3 of the Rebel Hearts series. I planned a May release.
DETOUR #1. I accepted an invitation to submit a novella to an anthology. So I paused Brothers’ Tangle and began a fantasy pirate story. (Let’s call it Captivated. It became part of my secret historical fantasy romance series).
I fell in love with these characters, but soon realized that story wanted to be more than a novella. So I paused Captivated and started a whole new historical fantasy romance novella for the anthology.
And The Lily and the Hawk came into being. (Part of Treasures Untold Anthology, releasing December 2. Available for Preorder on Amazon).
Whew! Back to Brothers’ Tangle, which I finished the beginning of May and released the first part of July!
I was on a roll, so I began Book 4 of the Rebel Hearts Series, let’s call it Delia’s Story for now.
I planned to swing back and finish Captivated right after.
DETOUR # 2. An idea came out of the blue. What if I wrote a new, stand alone regency romance to pitch to an editor at the writers’ conference in August? I only had 2 1/2 months. It would be difficult, but I wanted to try. I wrote 1/3 of what we’ll call Angel. I was giddy.
Imagine an embarrassed emoji here. I love Angel. It’s so fun. But as I wrote, it became book 1 of a very tightly interwoven trilogy. I couldn’t use that for my first pitch. So I paused. That makes 3 paused books.
Captivated (fantasy romance)
Delia’s Story (regency–final Rebel Hearts book)
Angel (Book 1 of a brand new regency series)
Instead, I began an entirely new novel (Let’s call this one, Huntley Hall, for now). I wrote frantically through June and July. I had only a few chapters left to finish.
And DETOUR #3 happened. My brother-in-law passed away after a long battle with cancer. I put all writing aside for funeral and family time. I also missed the conference, but the most important things must come first.
DETOUR #4. With the time away from writing, I had to leave Huntley Hall unfinished. I had to move on to a multi-author project I had been invited to write in. It’s just a small novel. And something a little different and special.
The challenge? It must be submitted by October 2. (I can’t say much about this project–Sorry. I’m under contract). For now, we’ll call it Medieval Tale. And it will be released at the end of 2026.
What this means, as of today, my list of partially finished books now number 5–
Medieval Tale (part of multi author project)
Captivated (historical fantasy romance with pirates),
Delia’s book (final regency in the Rebel Heart’s Series),
Angel (new regency romance series, book 1), and
Huntley Hall (my nearly completed regency to be pitched, likely in the spring at another writer’s conference).
Now the Promise part of the post:
Because of detours, the summer of 2025 looks like a writing fail. Do not be deceived. I am primed for a fabulous end to 2025 and an exciting beginning of 2026. I promise these 5 novels will be worth the wait.
It’s secret, but since you’re reading a blog post, I think you deserve to be in on it.
So, here’s the story.
In April, I finished Brothers’ Tangle, Rebel Hearts Regency Romance, Book 3. (Available on Amazon)
You’d think the obvious next project would be the 4th book in that series. But apparently, I can’t pull off predictable. So, I started working on a novel I began more than two years ago. It’s an entirely new regency romance series. The Heavenly Honeywells.
And I am so excited about these three sisters, one of whom must marry well. (Read that as he must have money).
Anyway, I began at the first of May with Sebastian and Angelica, and I was loving these characters and their story. All was well.
But then I looked at the calendar, and the scheduled writing conference I am attending the first week in August. Out of the blue, I had a thought. “What if I took a completed manuscript to that conference and pitched it to some agents and editors?”
At best, that would be an exciting new opportunity. At worst a good learning experience. Suddenly, I knew had to try.
But when I looked at Angelica, I decided the entire series needs to be finished before I should attempt to pitch it (if it’s even right for traditional publishing). So, I decided to start something totally new. (Yes. I realize that now makes three historical romance series and one historical fantasy romance that I am working on).
Writers are crazy.
I went to bet one night, the last week of May, wondering what I should write and woke the next morning with an idea.
The only hitch was that I only had two months to write an entire novel. I have never written a novel in so short a time. But, I began.
Can I do it?
All I can say now is that I am working like crazy. And in 5 weeks, I have written 3/4 of Christiana and William’s story. Both these characters start in pretty difficult circumstances, but together I think they’ll transcend all the challenges and find true love.
Cross your fingers that I can finish and polish this manuscript in the next three weeks. And send good vibes my way. I’ll keep you updated.
And thanks for reading and for encouraging me. You are the best!
Is it possible to be passionately involved in an endeavor and also be calm? Can you challenge yourself to do something new, to strive, to improve, to learn, to risk, but also be tranquil in your soul? Should you expect that?
Maybe if what you’re passionate about is yoga or meditation, and doesn’t include other people’s choices and preferences, there would be total ease. But how often in life are you totally separate from other people’s input and actions? And how often should you be?
I honestly would like to hear/read your thoughts and experiences about these questions. You may or may not write, but everyone has something they want to do and do well.
Since I hope you’ll share your thoughts, I’ll start with my experience.
I started writing (romance) seriously, with the intent to publish, three and a half years ago. By the fourth anniversary of my first book, I will have written twelve books. It’s simple math, but I’m still surprised by it–that’s an average of three books a year. And that doesn’t count the short stories and bonus epilogues, etc. that are free (one for every book, plus a few more stories and writing experiments that I offer here on my site).
Now, I haven’t published all of those twelve books, only eight as of this week. A ninth is free (available to you on the welcome page). The tenth, I’m holding in reserve until I’ve written a few more books in that series (my foray into historical fantasy romance). Another regency romance (11) is halfway written, and the twelfth (regency romance) is conceptualized but not written yet. (I anticipate a May release).
If I continue at the pace I’ve been writing, I may sneak in one more this year (another in the fantasy romance series). And I have been invited to write two shorter novellas for anthologies, so add those to the math.
I love writing these romances! I feel invigorated and excited, engaged and stretched. I have felt alive in a whole new way. And I love to finish a book and share it with you. It is such a thrill, such a sense of accomplishment. I can’t stop writing (and writing romance). On one level, writing is incredibly rewarding.
On another level, writing is agonizing. I want to constantly improve my skill. I don’t want to write the same thing again and again, so I push myself with new ideas, new forms, tighter prose, better characterization, plotting, pacing. And on and on.
And I won’t even discuss promoting/marketing here.
Because I love romance. I love writing.
But I admit that it brings with it an almost constant low-grade anxiety.
Is this a bad thing? Is it normal? (I think it is. You tell me what you think). I’m just not sure we’re meant to glide easily through life, as tempting as that may sound.
My questions are: Can we care deeply, can we challenge ourselves to improve, can we try something new, can we accomplish a goal, can we share our work without an emotional investment? An emotional cost?
Now in a perfect world, and in a perfect post, I would have a resolution here. A tight, satisfying take-away for you.
I don’t.
I just have a few more questions for you, and me, to consider. Are all forms of anxiety bad? Should we replace ‘anxiety’ with a different word when we’re speaking of any creative challenge? What word?
And more questions. How do you view your anxiety (or perhaps striving, anticipation, frisson, eustress, desire)? How do you make it motivational, not daunting? Is it a positive force in your life? Can it be?
Romance and anxiety, are they two sides of the same coin?
I love writing. I love my characters and telling their stories. I even love the struggle, the days when I just hit a wall, the worry, the reworking. It is all part of the process. At least for me.
I don’t think writing is something that you ever master. (Using an olympic metaphor), writing is a continual effort to break your own record. That constant struggle to get better.
So, this weekend, I went to a writer’s conference. I took classes on writing better characters, how to plot, how to use dialogue more effectively, and so much more.
I also explored some topics I hadn’t considered before. A class on illustrating my books and a class on getting inspiration from wonder tales (fairy tales) from around the world.
I am ready to dive in to the two books I am writing right now. I’m so excited to use the things I learned and the ideas that came to me in between classes.
As the reader, you may not–you should not–see the effort and craft. I want you to be swept away to another time and experience the lives of these characters. But behind the scenes, I am working hard to give you a wonderful, immersive experience. And I am always striving to make that experience better for you.
What are you working on, striving to improve? How do you describe that process of growth? Let’s talk.
One of my college professors once said she wanted to write romances because she thought it would be easy. She described her imagined process like this: write a list of common scenes on 3 x 5 cards, shuffle them, and write the scenes in that order.
I don’t believe she was a lover of the romance genre. If I were taking her class now, I would argue her assumption of ease and her supposed “systematic” approach. My experience has been so very different and much more difficult than she imagined. (And I think more rewarding than what she described).
Some romance authors probably do write according to a formula. They have a structure, perhaps even a template that works for them. They may plan according to trope before they create character. (Example: I’ll write an enemies to lovers romance. So, who are my main characters? Why do they hate each other? What has to happen to bring them together? Answer those questions and create a story). They may even have a few situations that regularly happen in their books.
There are moments when such a system sounds a little tempting. It might make this writing process easier, but I cannot do it for a few important reasons. (Please understand. These reasons are only important to me, to my process, to my satisfaction and joy in writing. This is not a comment on how other writers plan and write).
This is what I’ve learned (and continue to learn) about my writing.
First, characters come first for me. I can’t start with plot. I don’t know what is going to happen until I know my character, and sometimes not even then. I am often surprised as I write. My characters take on a life of their own and almost always change the plot. This is not comfortable or easy, but it keeps me on my toes. And I love the ride!
Second, I can’t write “to trope.” It’s only after I’m a good way through the story that I might recognize a familiar theme or device. I’m editing my novel Under a Honeyed Moon. It has a little bit of a Cinderella beginning and is fundamentally a forced marriage story. (You know, the couple that is found in a socially compromising situation and must marry). I didn’t start out with these tropes. They developed after Evie looked out her window and started talking to her friend about his plans to run away with another girl.
Temporary Cover created in AI and Bookbrush
Third, even the structure of my novels are guided by the characters. Liza demanded to tell her own story, so first person, single point of view. Amelia and Sidonie followed suit. (Helen and Maris did too). But we had to see both Susan and Magnus in alternating points of view, and in third person. Patience required third person and to be the only point of view. Joie has such a strong voice–first person, present tense, flash fiction (less than 1000 words).
I was sure Minna’s story would be told simply in her POV in third person, except then Rupert wanted a little bit of time at the beginning of each chapter.
Now, I’m writing Corinna’s romance. She’s half in love with Lord Wycliff before the story even begins. But their whole relationship is based on a deception and an innocently meant impropriety. What will she do? I’m still finding out, along with her best friend because suddenly, I’m writing an epistolary novel.
No formula. No 3 x 5 cards. Not easy, but I love it! I love discovering and sharing these people and their love stories with you.
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.
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.
Hint: I’m not trying to hide–I write romance novels
I am named after my paternal grandmother. She was Gaylie—Gaylie Belle. My parents, I can only suppose, wanting to update or personalize the name, changed it to Gayelynn. With an “e” in the middle. It’s my name. My everyday name. It was a tribute to my grandmother, whom I do not remember, but who is an integral part of my life.
However, never once, in all of my life, has anyone who is not in my family been able to spell it. At least not the first half dozen tries. Commonly, people struggle to pronounce it and often to remember it. When I embarked on this author’s journey, it didn’t seem ideal to use my name that readers can’t spell, say, or remember easily.
So, my decision to use a pen name. Now, as much as I love to find names for my characters, I didn’t want to just choose a pen name at random. I needed to feel comfortable thinking of myself as and answering to my pen name. So, I thought back on my childhood and remembered. For years, my mother called me Gigi.
It really was that easy. I am Gayelynn. I am also Gigi. I am comfortable being both.
My hope is that you can say it, spell it, remember it. Hi I’m Gigi Lynn. I’m a romance author.
I’m still trying to find my “blogging” voice. Also, now that I mention it, I’m still working on my writing voice. I like some of the things that I do, and cringe in embarrassment over some of the others. I have read other writer’s blogs, but I’m uncomfortable giving advice on how to write. Writing is such a personal, unique and individual process, and, though I’m finding what works for me, I’m not sure it would be helpful to anyone else, so I’m not sure writing about that is very interesting to anyone but me. So, for awhile I think I’m going to give myself a “weekly writing challenge.” I will try to record and share my outcomes. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe both “voices” will reveal themselves through the process.
