It’s the “all” love must conquer that I’ve been struggling with in my latest work in progress. Both my main characters, male and female, have been wronged by the same antagonist. They have a common enemy.
And I want, I mean, they want to destroy him.
This last few weeks, they began to plot. But that presents a challenge for me. For my characters to create a revenge plot, I, as the author, have to know the details of how it’s supposed to work out, and how it actually works out–beyond the Happily Every After. I have to strategize the details and know the end, so they can work toward that culmination. (Surprises included).
As a discovery writer, this goes against my usual process, this figuring out the end before I go through everything that brings my characters there.
photo by luca-nicoletti on unsplash
It is fitting that I’ve been facing this challenge in January. My characters have a stated goal, a resolution. But they can’t just say they’ll do it. They have to decide the steps and the timing, work out the things that might stop them and have plans to overcome. And, perhaps most importantly in a romance book, they must work together.
What plotting and planning have you done this first month of 2026? (I’m hoping it’s not revenge). Most of all, I’m hoping all of the details of your plan and the adjustments you must make along the way lead you to greater happiness–I want you to have your own Happily Ever After–Or, in this case, a rich and rewarding year!
I begin a story. And it grows, seemingly of its own volition. I am often surprised at how it swells, and weaves, knots, and eventually resolves. After writing twelve books, I still can’t guess what will happen along the characters’ journeys and how each story will turned out.
I thought this one was going to be a second chance romance, but Captain Broadbent just wasn’t right for Philippa. Then I discovered the captain had a brother.
And the lost heir plot line in this epistolary novel took me by surprise.
I could tell at least one surprise from each book if I had time and space.
And I love the whole difficult, exhilarating process, but after I’ve done the best I can do with the story, I want to share it. I want to find the readers who will enjoy my stories.
So I send each out into the world. I publish it. I share about it on social media. When I can afford, I advertise. And I find a few new readers. With each book, I find a few more. And it doesn’t feel so very solitary anymore.
Even better is when I get to talk to someone who has read one, or more, of my books. I love that feeling of sharing something of myself with you. It is a connection different from any other.
So, I’ve begun to look for opportunities to go to places where I can talk with readers, face to face. And looking for other ways to share and communicate. I’d like to know you.
So contact me, or comment here, private message, or come to author events if you are nearby. Let’s connect.
“The word is mightier than the sword.” (BTW: The Assyrian sage, Ahigar, said it this way. Edward Bulwer-Lytton rephrased it as, “the pen in mightier than the sword in his 1839 play, Richelieu: Or the Conspiracy).
(And yes, I am that much of a nerd that I looked that up).
We use words to communicate, create connection, persuade, uplift, inspire, describe, evoke emotion, and entertain. And we try to find the best words, hoping to say exactly what we mean or what we feel in a way that you will understand. Really understand.
But I can’t deny there are definite limitations to spoken and written language.
The most important things in life are abstract. They defy being encapsulated by a mere word. Love. What does it mean? How does it feel? Is it always the same? Always the same for everyone?
Beauty, Honor, Compassion. Anger, Hate, Despair. Can words really hold so much meaning? Can they really communicate?
What does a writer do when words won’t capture and express meaning?
We try harder. We describe common experiences or use symbols that speak beneath words. We look for devices like metaphors or similes to compare the unspeakable to something concrete and understandable.
We play with the sounds of language so that the words mimic the experience.
We search for stronger imagery. Or reference the works of other authors or universally familiar stories, myths, or legends.
I can only speak for myself, but I practice and refine my craft. It is an endless quest and hope to master the impossible–to speak to your heart and soul, beyond words, so that you feel what I feel. So that we understand each other and, perhaps, realize we are not really alone.
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.
I set a goal. It was challenging, but doable if I could just write 2000 words a day, five days a week for all the weeks of June and July. I would have a new Regency Romance novel to pitch to agents and editors at an upcoming writers’ conference.
I did set the week of July 4th aside. That’s a big holiday for our family, and I knew I wouldn’t write anything while we celebrated the birth of our nation.
That left me eight weeks to write a full-length novel, and a week and a half to polish it. It would require everything I had. And until this last week, I was on target.
Renovation setbacks, a death in the family, family birthdays and parties (at my house), out of town guests. And more.
My writing slowed down. Way down. Even though I’ve written more than 3/4 of the novel, I only have eight days left. Can I write five chapters in that time?
Yes. If that’s all I did, I probably could.
But the obstacles and interruptions of my life must still be addressed. And even if I finished, it wouldn’t be a polished manuscript. At least not to a standard that I would be proud of.
I am sorry to say that I had to readjust the timeline of my goal.
I will finish this novel, and very soon. Then I will take the time I need to polish it and have it editing until I feel it is ready for you to read.
After that, I have a few options. 1. Publish independently. the first novel in a new regency romance series. 2. Save the file until the next writer’s conference and pitch it then. 3. Go through the query letter process and see what happens.
I’ll decide after the romance is 100% written.
It would be easy to get a little depressed about not reaching my goal in the time I set, but I choose to look at it through a different lens.
I wrote nearly an entire novel in six weeks. For me, that is unprecedented! And I love William and Christiana’s story.
I tried a different writing process, and honed my craft a little more .
I also have a whole new series, with at least two additional books, to look forward to.
And I’ve discovered some things about myself as a writer, about why I write, what I love about writing, and how I measure my success as an author (I’ll blog about this another time).
I’m sorry to disappoint, but I hope you will bear with me as I finish this project, and bring William and Christiana to a happily ever after.
Then I will write my short Christmas novel (part of a multi-author project),.
And before the end of the year, I will finish writing the fourth novel in the Rebel Hearts series, Lord Harcourt’s Heist.
I have to slow down my writing for a minute to take care of some life things, but there is still a lot of romance coming your way in the last few months of 2025.
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!
I have strong adventure elements in most of my Regency Romance Novels.
For the first part of the regency era, it’s the French Revolution. Then it’s the Napoleonic War. My characters are affected, and often they are involved in the fight.
So, while there are some lovely romantic moments and a few kissing scenes (another post), I often must write an action scene, or three.
Excitement! Danger! Risk! I want your heart to beat faster and your eyes to race through the words.
But there is a paradox involved in writing action scenes. The faster the action, the slower I must write. An immersive action scene is measured in details. You need to feel like you’re there. The sounds, the smells, the emotions, fear, or horror, or sorrow. These all must be there.
That kind of experience won’t come if I scrimp on words or if I hurry through the scene.
These scenes can be some of the more difficult for me to write. I have to imagine myself in the situation. Sometimes I have to stand up and move around to “block” the movement. I have to visualize where all the characters are in the room, or hall, or woods. Which way are they facing? How much light is there? And where is it coming from? What is under their feet?
And many, many more details. Not all of this will make it into the scene, but I have to know all of it if I am going to show you the danger, the anticipation, courage.
What have you read recently that had your heart pumping and your pulse racing? Please share. I am always looking for good action writing–Even in Romance.
When my son, Tristan, was in High School, he and some of his friends on his Lacrosse team had a “game.” They used a scale from 1 to 6 to rate each other’s word usage. If one of the boys used an unfamiliar or seldom used word, the other boys would rate it. To receive a 6 was the highest compliment.
I don’t have a rating system, but I admit when I hear such a word, I savor it for hours afterward. I roll it around in my mouth like a delightful piece of candy.
Do you?
Now, I don’t believe that the biggest, most unique word is the best choice when I write. In fact, the opposite is true more often than not. I don’t want to try to impress readers with an overblown vocabulary. I want to communicate. I want to tell stories.
And I want those stories to resonate in your hearts. I want to capture and share the characters’ lives, struggles, hopes, interactions, and mostly their journey to true and lasting love.
I’m looking for the “right” word, even the “best” word. That’s the one that is going to carry meaning from my heart to yours.
When it works, it’s magic.
Do you have a book that has been that kind of magic for you? One that has made you feel what the character feels? Once that has drawn you into their world?
Do you have a passage in a book that took your breath away?
I want to hear about it, find it, and read it so I can feel the same magic. Let’s talk about words.
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?
Since my latest book, Dear Lord Wycliffe is epistolary (all except the epilogue is written in the form of letters), I’ve been thinking a lot about letters.
Letters have greatly influenced me over the course of my life. For two years, I wrote and received letters from the man I eventually married while he was living across the country. I learned things about him that I don’t think I would have had we only talked face to face. Or at least not as quickly.
My mother, almost to the day she died, wrote letters. She wrote to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She wrote notes to her neighbors, those who were older, alone, or sick and suffering. She did this while battling cancer for the final time.
I have many of her letters, and I prize them.
I can’t deny the immediacy of texting. Email is useful. But I’m sorry that we don’t often put pen to paper and write to people we care for.
This is only one reason why I wrote an epistolary novel. Dear Lord Wycliffe is set in 1793 London and Arpinge/Folkestone in Kent. Two friends who share their experiences, their successes, their foibles, their romances. We also visit Paris and The Hague through letters from Lord Wycliffe. Through these letters, we experience the French revolution, adventure in England, and mostly Romance.
I hope you enjoy my newest romance, and perhaps you’ll feel inspired to write a letter to someone you love.
