Happy tears and mounting edits

Hard for me to believe that I haven’t blogged since January.  But if you know me – or follow my musings – you know my life is a festival of happenings. There’s always something going on around here that competes with or supplants my writing time. (Not my desire – just the hours I have to execute.) Just as importantly though, I don’t consider these real-world intrusions as negatives. Take February through August, for example. In those months, we completed another senior year of high school and summer of college prep in my house. Whew! Two down. One to go.

Now that the chaos has calmed, I have to say that I miss my middle child. Desperately. Not that I didn’t miss my oldest just as much when he went off to college. In fact, I cried every day after he left – each time I passed his high school on my way to work…or the grocery store…or the movie theater…. You get the idea.

This time, with this son, I miss him in a way that’s nearly palpable. I get teary whenever I hear Big Sean sing "I hope you learn to make it on your own. If you love yourself just know you'll never be alone... And when you get it all just remember one thing - that one man could change the world." Those lyrics ring so true. I had to pull off the road one day and cry. Really. But like I told my youngest, my happiness for her brother outweighs the sadness.  So his going away isn’t any less difficult, just different. In the way that each child is different.

That said, sending my son off to frolic with the higher learning crowd has added a little more than 100 minutes of non-pickup/drop-off time to my daily schedule. (You don’t think about that while it's going on or else you'd talk yourself out of taking on the task. Or go crazy.) For years I've wished for extra hours in my day and – BAM! – like magic, I got ‘em. To top that off, my youngest is back in school and has freed me from her vampirish stay-up-all-night summer schedule.

 

So voile! I’m back to editing like the author I am. Here’s my magic to-date:

 

Gaging by numbers alone, my progress count would deceive me into thinking that I’m almost halfway through revisions. HA! I’ve actually added 8,424 words to the story. (Mind you, I cut 4,500+ words by deleting a chapter early on.) This means my actual word count – if I submitted the story “as is” today – would be 97,170. Oh my.

All that math made my head hurt. LOL Thus, the moral of this blog post is that it’s time to get back to the book. While my son's out learning how to change the world, my goal is to finish editing before autumn passes me by. 

#thatisall #amediting

www.stefanieworth.com
www.facebook.com/stefanieworthbooks

Passion, suspense and supernatural twists

Where Souls Collide is back! Montlake Romance recently released my first novel -- an award-winner I might add -- and it's available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon. And right now the Kindle version is on sale for $1.99!


Here's the cover blurb:

RELECTIONS OF THE PASTDetroit journalist Navena Larimore thought her romance with NBA star Maxwell McKnight would last forever, but forever came to an abrupt end fifteen years ago, leaving her brokenhearted. Now Maxwell is back in her life as the owner and editor of her newspaper, and Navena's turbulent feelings have come rushing back.

VISIONS OF THE PRESENTNavena cannot find peace at home, either. Her boyfriend wants more of a commitment than she can give and she's haunted by prophetic dreams of murder.

DREAMS OF THE FUTUREIt is up to Navena to figure out her psychic legacy and prevent the murder...but not alone. After struggling with doubt, Maxwell realizes that Navena's visions are authentic, and it is she who might need saving. Navena may have extraordinary powers, but together they discover that real love is a force of its own.

One of several great reviews:

“Worth has masterfully written a paranormal adventure with superbly developed characters. The imagery in the descriptions will force you to stay up late reading and thinking about Navena’s next move. The suspense, romance and fiery love scenes all brilliantly combine to make this one of the best paranormal romances this year. [. . .] The twist in the storyline along with smoothness of time shifting will leave you in awe.”                                                            
– Deltareviewer, www.realpageturners.com

For more reviews and an excerpt from Chapter One (as well as info on my other books), visit www.stefanieworth.com.

Holiday Brides is now available!

It's release day for Holiday Brides! Woo hoo! I've been celebrating around the blogosphere, promoting my novella HeavenSent.com and talking about the writing life. I'm also enjoying the reviews that have rolled in so far, including this one from Ramsey's Reviews:

4 1/2 stars!
"HeavenSent.Com is a sensuous and compelling read. Stefanie Worth has conveyed a splendid, romantic and angelic story with a happy ever after ending. She has a unique gift for portraying lifelike characterizations which radiate true emotions and designing a plot that is as charming as the story itself. I am sure any reader will find this a delightful and inspiring short story."

I have to admit that this release day is pretty much as exciting as the first was for Where Souls Collide, except that today I've topped the occasion with a wee bit of anxiety. There's a different pressure to produce now -- precisely the kind I've longed for -- that keeps the thought of "I have to get back to writing" on the fringes of my celebration.

That is why I do this after all; so that each release day leads to new readers and new reasons to keep writing. I love being an author and count myself blessed to have another book to share with the world.

About HeavenSent.com in the Holiday Brides anthology:

The holidays aren’t so festive when you’re celebrating by yourself. But with a little luck and a lot of love, three single women find their soulmates and get the holiday weddings of their dreams.

Brenna has a list, and she’s checking it twice. But unfortunately for her coworker Evan, she just doesn’t seem to see him as anything more than a friend. Can an online dating site and two guardian angels change her mind before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve?

Read chapter one

Watch the trailer

Visit my web site

Early reviews for HeavenSent.com!

Reviews always stir the angst pot for me. Of course, I believe I've written one heckuva story. But it's like an author said at a workshop once: Out of 10 people, one person is going to love your writing. Period. One person is going to hate your writing. Period. One or two may feel so-so about it, another couple of folks will really enjoy it. The remaining readers fall somewhere in between.

And in the years since I first heard that philosophy, I've come to believe that the "like it" scale sways with each new work, and that for people -- like me -- who write paranormal, we have to factor in the whole "Did they get it?" question that comes with writing otherworldly stories.

That said, I'm pretty excited about the following two reviews that have come in for my novella HeavenSent.com in the Holiday Brides anthology due out in about 10 days. I'm going to spend the moment feeling fabulous, then get back to work on my WIP.

From Huntress Reviews:

"***** FIVE STARS! I was sent a galley copy of this novella for an honest review. I am going to assume (yeah, I know the joke about assuming) that the other two stories are as good as this one. Therefore, this book receives the full five stars from me. Stefanie Worth's story hits close to home as she clearly shows how the economic world of today is, as well as how it affects people who live in it. Her characters, both mortal and angelic, are totally believable. Nothing comes across as odd or false. This book is perfect for reading while you are cuddled up in front a cozy fire indoors while the snow piles up outside. *****"

From Darque Reviews:

"HeavenSent.com is part of the Holiday Brides anthology. Ms. Worth does a fabulous job of bringing readers into this short story while filling it with an unexpectedly sweet romance, as well as heavenly paranormal elements. A fast-paced escape that’s sure to capture reader’s attention."

Visit the HeavenSent.com page on my site to view the book trailer or read an excerpt.

Crafting Characters

Unlike some authors, I don’t “see” my characters before I put them on paper. They come to me a bit like spirits; colorless, odorless, shapeless forms in the midst of doing whatever it is I’ve concocted. But, how they influence or react to the central situation is carefully constructed. In this way, characters are very much my designer babies.

Read the rest here.

Thanks for stopping by.
Stefanie

October is Spec Fiction Month at Black Author Showcase. . .

. . .and I'm featured!

Many thanks to Diane over at the Black Author Showcase site for recognizing and uplifting my genre of choice this month. The feature spot includes a bio, story summaries and a thoughtful Q&A that I really enjoyed participating in.

If you get a chance, please take a few minutes to check it out.

Stefanie
www.stefanieworth.com