Proposal out the door + new book available + changes to the blog

Whew – busy week, dear readers!

After the invitation from my Harlequin editor to submit some pitches for some non-Amish stories, I sent in six pitches (incorporating some of your ideas!) and she liked three of them. Then I set myself an ambitious goal: To have a proposal on her desk by this past Monday. That meant I had one week to write a chapter outline, synopsis, and three chapters. Imagine hands on fire and you’ll get the right idea.

For me, writing is easy. What’s tough for me is plotting, though I’m getting better at it. I’ve learned the best way to get the job done is to write a detailed – and I mean detailed – chapter-by-chapter outline. The outline I wrote for this proposal, for example, is 13 single-spaced pages and almost 6700 words in length.

But once it’s done, that’s the hard part. With an outline that detailed, the synopsis practically writes itself. I blasted through writing the first three chapters, polished them, and finalized the synopsis. Then I sent the packet to my agent, who forwarded it to my editor, and we’ll see what happens from there.

But there’s no rest for the weary. In the hopes my editor will accept the proposal, I’m continuing to work on the manuscript. For this, it’s a matter of applying NaNoWriMo techniques (writing a minimum of 1667 words per day), and voilà.

Next up: I’ve been negligent in mentioning the availability of my latest book “The Amish Bride’s Secret.” The cover art is kinda “meh,” but the story (I think) is good. Ahem, you may recognize some aspects of me in the heroine, LOL.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

She looks like the perfect bride – but there’s something she’s hiding…

After a broken engagement leads to a terrible mistake, Cara Lengacher needs to start over, and Matthew Miller’s advertisement is a lifeline. She’ll go to Montana, become his mail-order wife and live happily ever after. But as soon as she arrives, her rosy hopes start to dim. Matthew’s parents disapprove of mail-order matches, and his place in the family is now at risk. To help her husband-to-be, she must show that she’ll be a perfect wife. But the secret she’s carrying could ruin everything…

Apparently the book made Publisher’s Weekly best-seller list, though PW no longer allows non-members to see the list. However another writer posted this info in the chatroom:

This book can be found either on Amazon or the Harlequin website:

• Amazon

• Harlequin

Next topic of business: I’m officially announcing some changes on this blog. We’re increasingly going to monetize it, and that includes joining Amazon Affiliates. While this may seem annoying to some, I should remind readers that I’ve been keeping this blog for upwards of 15 years and very seldom attempted to monetize it.

For various reasons I won’t disclose, we’re trying to position ourselves financially to prepare for a loss of one of our larger income streams. That’s one of the reasons I applied to my Harlequin editor to increase the number of books I can submit. Monetizing this blog is just another financial iron in the fire, as we call it, and every little bit helps. Remember, clicking on affiliate links or patronizing advertisers is voluntary, not compulsory, so no one needs to feel obliged to support anything they don’t want to.

However I have no intention of becoming a link farm or any other ridiculously transparent attempt to part people from their money. I’m just letting readers know why they might see the occasional disclaimer or advertisement. I do ask for understanding for this decision.

(To this end, please be aware that the above Amazon link is an affiliate link, and I will earn a small commission for every purchase made through that link. Apparently a disclaimer is required for every link posted.)

Whew. Lots of stuff. Moving on!