AMERICAN MAIL-ORDER BRIDE - Willow - Bride of Pennsylvania

I am so excited to introduce you to the first book in the American Mail-Order Bride series. First state we visit is Pennsylvania.  Here is how Willow's story came to be for author, Merry Farmer.

I was incredibly fortunate to find out about this project right at the very beginning. I was in on things early enough to get my first pick of states, my home state of Pennsylvania. I always tell people that I’m not particularly patriotic, but I’m incredibly state-riotic! Pennsylvania is an awesome place with so many wonderful things going for it. We have some of the world’s premier universities (including my alma mater, Villanova), first-rate museums and sports teams, major industry, vast natural resources, Hershey’s chocolate the Liberty Bell, and Gettysburg. In fact, if Pennsylvania were to become its own independent country, it would have the 15^th largest economy in the world, all by itself!

Now, when it came to writing a romance novel about Pennsylvania, I knew I had to tap into Amish romance. Living near Lancaster County, I’ve always enjoyed Amish romance and been fascinated with the community and culture. It’s an easy drive, and one that I make often to sample the crafts and food and the general serenity of the people. I jumped at the chance to write an Amish love story, but because I wanted it to fit in with the backstory of the whole American Mail-Order Brides series, I knew I needed to find a non-traditional way in.

That’s how I came up with the idea of writing a heroine whose grandparents were Amish and who is fascinated by her heritage, but was not raised that way herself. I also included a hero, Amos, who was raised Amish, but who was never baptized due to a conflict that is more than a decade old. In his heart, Amos wants to return to his community, but years of resentment is holding him back…until Willow comes along.

Willow: Bride of Pennsylvania is more than just a love story, it’s a story of community and friendship. It’s a story about how we not only need a strong, core, romantic love in our lives, but how we need friends and neighbors to make out life full. It’s a sentiment I strongly believe in. I hope that by reading about Willow and Amos, readers will be reminded of their own friendships and the people they have come to consider their family and their community.

BLURB –

When Willow Miller decides to change her life by becoming a mail-order bride to ex-Amish, Amos Stoltzfus, hope may carry her forward, but guilt over her part in the fire that destroyed the factory where she works holds her back.

EXCERPT –

“Willow Miller?”

Willow caught her breath and turned with a start. A numb buzz swept through her body as she caught sight of a man walking toward her. He was tall with broad shoulders and arms that stretched the fabric of his simple blue shirt. He was clean-shaven, with walnut-brown hair and hazel eyes that crinkled as he smiled. His clothes were similar to the Amish men on the platform, but just different enough to mark that he was not one of them. All-in-all, he was a very handsome man. And he held three apples in one of his large hands.

“Willow?” he asked a second time.

Willow opened her mouth to reply, but only a squeak came out. She wouldn’t let herself ruin things so soon. Instead, she nodded vigorously, face hot with a blush, until she found her voice. “Yes. Amos Stoltzfus?”

His smile widened. “That’s me.”

* * *

GIVE AWAY! 

Merry is giving a FREE copy of Willow - Bride of Pennsylvania away once the eBook is released. To enter, just leave a comment below telling us why you are looking forward to reading Willow's story and your email so I can contact you in the event that you win. Good Luck!

Merry Farmer is a bestselling, award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have topped the Amazon and iBooks charts, and been named as finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.

You may Pre-Order Willow - Bride of Pennsylvania on Amazon

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CURRENT PROJECT UPDATE - NanoWrimo

Week 1 is done and I am far short of where I wanted to be. The crazy thing is I can not seem to get a handle on this story. I know what the internal issues are for both of my characters but something just hasn't gelled yet. I know I'll get there. I usually do. And when the story clicks, the words pour.  

Normally I am a :

While I do not plan everything down to the minute detail I do have an idea of what is going to happen when in each chapter. My problem, is I've not taken time to do that this year. I'm afraid if I do take the time to plan, I will lose valuable writing time. 

So for now, I am a:

This form of writing drives me insane and is probably why I'm struggling with my word count so far.

There is one badge NanoWrimo does not provide... the Quilter:

While I am a planner, I do not usually write in chronological order. I write scenes as they grab me then piece everything together in the end.

How do you write? Planner? Pantser? A little bit of both? Or do you have your own style? What works for you?

Creative Blessings!

Angela

AMERICAN MAIL ORDER BRIDE - Prequel

I am so excited for this series, I could barely wait for today to arrive so I could introduce you to the first author in this fabulous series.

I'm not giving you a full scope on Kirsten Osbourne. I'll save that for her big book launch but I think she's done a great job setting the series up in the PREQUEL. Click on the link to see how fifty courageous women go from losing everything to gaining more than they ever imagined. Join these authors as they take us on a journey through all fifty states.

Happy Reading!
Angela

SOMETHING AWESOME IS COMING!

Sisters can be pretty awesome sometimes. My sister, Dona, got into a FB Book Launch event. She sent me a link and though nothing was given up front about the books, the event was a blast! Forty-Five Fabulous authors with a Sooper Sekrit announcement to make at the end of the evening.

The Book Launch was for a Fifty-Book series! Yes, you heard me 50! As in a book set in each of the 50 states. Here's the promo they sent to Romantic Times

Be a part of an unprecedented event as forty-five authors come together to bring you a new series of epic proportions. On fifty consecutive days beginning November 19, 2015, a romance will be published featuring a mail order bride, one set in each of the fifty states. The books will be released in the order they were admitted to the union. The stories all take place in 1890, when a factory fire in the East burns to the ground, leaving these women unemployed. Share the experiences of these women as they seek love and new lives across the United States. 

And here is a portion of what they sent to USA Today that gives you a bit of the premise:

The year is 1890, and the initial premise, with a prequel written by USA Today best-selling author, Kirsten Osbourne, is that these girls all work together in the Mill town of Lawrence, MA in a sweat shop environment where they are all seamstresses. A fire that levels the building and business puts the girls all out of work and without many options. In Beckham, MA, there is a match-maker, Elizabeth, that plants the idea with the girls of becoming mail-order brides. Each girl moves to a different state as a mail-order bride, and eventually finds love.

If you follow my blog you know that Jayson's Range is a mail-order bride book so this series had my full attention right away. 

The concept is to release one book a day through January 7th. 

Beginning on Wednesday November 4th, I will post a link to the Prequel by Kirsten Osbourne. 

Since I don't want to flood you with just guest appearances, I will be hosting one of the authors each Wednesday until we've completed the series. So while some of them will have been out for awhile, you can still get to know the author and any new things they have in the works. 

I hope you'll sign up for reminders or just plan to stop by each Wednesday so you don't miss any part of this exciting new venture and meet some talented authors.

Blessings!

Angela

A NEW FOCUS - Gearing up for Nano 2015

Seems like just a few weeks ago I had returned from an extended trip through Texas. Non-fiction was more on the forefront of my brain. Even a few days at RT could not entice me to get back to working on my novels.

NanoWriMo and my recent trip to the Ozark Creative Writers conference has flipped the proverbial switch. Yay!

While in Eureka Springs meeting up with friends who were attending the conference (I was just there to soak up the charm Eureka Springs has to offer), I spent a good amount of time working on rewriting A Christmas To Remember. Arthritis flared up and I did not get very far, but at least I was doing something in the fiction vein again. And the process felt wonderful!

I also met Tiffany Schofield from Five Star Publishing. I think she might be a good fit for my Jayson's Range series. But I warned Tiffany that the book, while having placed in competitions, was no where near pitchable - yet. She asked that we keep in touch and that I reach out to her when I am ready. Absolutely!

But first... I have fleshing out to do of the first book in the Branson Series. Additional word count needs turned into the JANO bean counter by the end of November. And Book 2 of the Branson series - How Do You Like Me Now? - is my Nano 2015 project. And once that is out of the way, then I plan to write Book 3 for JANO 2016.

I'm also teaming up with the ever so awesome Pam Labud as my crit partner. Neither of us have been able to find someone that fit or had the time, yet both need someone in our corner to point out our boo boos. We learned at RT  we are good roomies. I figure if you can room with someone (and their husband) without wanting to strangle them, you've got a good match LOL

The cauldron is bubbling and I'm anxious to start word-spilling.

I'm not going to focus much else on this blog except writer updates for the rest of the year, what with Nano then Christmas. But come January, I hope to get back to author interviews and some book reviews. So stay tuned!

Best!
~Angela

CURRENT PROJECT UPDATE! - Slow Progress

Though I'm not sure my progress is necessarily at a turtle's pace (though they can run pretty fast when the need arises. I've watched one run across my back yard after getting tapped with the lawn mower blade. Ouch!)

For those who think writing a book is easy, you are correct. Writing the story is easy. The real work begins when you switch to polishing mode. Correcting grammar and punctuation, staying in the proper Point of View, internalization, deep Point of View, etc. When you can resolve all of those issues in your manuscript, you've earned your paycheck.

I thought all of these things had been done years ago in Ozakr Angel.. now renamed A Christmas To Remember. The story went through a professional editor (yes, she is a professional. She edits for a big name in Inspirational Fiction), received favorable comments from two Sil. Special Edition editors and even got 'The Call' (though after unable to connect with the editor, I wound up with a form rejection letter six months later. Probably for the best). With all these positives, the story still does not score well in competitions where editors and agents are the final judges. Hmmm

Then I heard something from writer friend Jen Nipps last week. She said a friend of hers believes that if the story doesn't score well in competition then it is pretty much publishable. Interesting. As a judge I try to be honest. If  I see issues I leave comments as well as where they can go to learn how to fix the problem. I also praise the things they have done correctly and there have been several over the years when I tell them to let me know when the book is released. Their submission is that good!

So where does that leave me with 'Christmas'? Well, as I tried to prep Chapter 1 for competition I saw a lot of issues that were never caught in the beginning. So now my quandry is, do I play to the competition or go with what has been doing well the way the manuscript is and send it back out. My internal judge (Not the internal editor - but the person who would judge this for competition) tells me I have work to do. So Camp Nano has been put aside and in between work and a journaling class, I'm trying to see the clearing for the forest.

CURRENT PROJECT UPDATE!

I thought I'd get into the Christmas spirit a bit. With Hallmark Channel running their holiday romances and me working on edits for A Christmas To Remember, this picture just seemed appropriate.

I did not accomplish as much as I'd hoped in June. I had an unexpected death in my writing family the weekend the first round of family was to arrive so things got  off to a hectic start. I did make edit notations and hope to implement those today - once I find where the manuscript got put as the revolving door of family began. 

The Ozarks Romance Authors writing competition - The Weta Nichols deadline is July 15th. Yeah.. not that far off. My beta reader is scheduled for a brief hospital visit on Wednesday so time is not really on my side at this moment but I'm pushing forward. I'm excited about the conference and competition this year because of who our two final round judges - Lousie Fury (Historical and YA? Middle Grade) from The Bent Agency and Candace Havens (Contemporary/ Paranormal/ Sci-Fi representing Entangled Publishing. 

Louise has been a supporter of ORA for several years. We are blessed to have her. I have been in Candace's YahooGroup for the past nine years. She and I have a lot of writing in common. We both write romance AND are entertainment writers. Though I have to tell you, while people think I am the energizer bunny, Candace is the super bunny. The woman never stops. She is my idol. 

So now that my desk is in its 'forever home' and the workspace is coming together, I hope to get back on a regular schedule. The cats already know that this is my new office and usually beat me to the door in the mornings. 

After all the company had left, Bob and I took three days in Branson. Bob knew up front this was part work and part pleasure (I really don't do a 'vacation' any other way LOL). While we took in shows and did some sightseeing, I was making notes and taking pictures for visual research for the Branson Series. I fell in love with Branson Landing. I'd never been before and now have an idea for Book 3. 

If you are in Branson, check out The Revolutionists. These guys are pretty amazing illusionists. Each of the five have their own area of expertise and they use audience participation. 

Off to start my week!