This is another one of those updates type of posts so the topics will vary. 😀

1.  I am working on family trees or the main character in the Nebraska Series.

I am going to do these a little at a time.  I know the first family tree I mapped out of the 1st and 2nd generation of the Larson family looks like it only took five minutes to do, but I was working on it for an hour.  The hard part was getting the lines and names to center so you could tell who was born in what year.  I have months of births for some of the kids, but I’m not listing those on the family tree.  The simpler I can make it look, the cleaner it is and easier to track.

I will not be putting these into the books.  Formatting would be a nightmare, and I don’t want to hire out for it.  If someone is that interested, they can go to the Nebraska Series page on this blog and print out the family trees as I make them.  If I remember, I’ll put a note in my future books that the family trees can be found at this blog.

2.  Thinking of offering review copies in the future.

Please note the “THINKING” part of the statement above.   This is not definite.

I saw an author who had a link on her blog with an offer to give them a free ebook in exchange for a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads.  She required them to fill out a form with a link to their book review blog and then she would accept or decline as she felt they were or were not a good fit for her.

I’m not sure if I want to do something like this or not.  I have contacted book reviewers in the past and got denied 9 times out of 10, so I’m not going to waste my time seeking more out.  The book review blogs that featured one of my books were from people who found my book.

So I’m thinking of having the book reviewer contact me.  I’d send a free ebook to them in exchange for a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads.  Those are the big three, and I would require the review to go on all of these sites, especially since people don’t have to buy a book to leave a review.

BTW, the free ebook would either be a gift for the Kindle or a coupon at Smashwords.  Those are the two easiest ways for me to give out ebooks.

I’ll consider this as an option over the next two months, and if I decide to try it out, I’ll start with Shotgun Groom as a trial run.  If I give out free ebooks but find out very few people are leaving reviews on those three sites, I won’t do it in the future.   I figure if you’re asking me for a free ebook, then it’s fair to ask for a review since a review only takes a few minutes of your time.  Unless you win the ebook in a contest.  Contest winners don’t have to leave reviews.

3.  Suddenly a Bride is back up.

Thanks to everyone who voted.  I will have to update this blog and website to reflect the change, but the decision was pretty easy once I saw how many votes I had in favor of the change.  😀

4.  I will work on more contemporaries as time permits, but the focus will be on historical westerns.

Since Suddenly a Bride is back to the way it was, I will keep it simple and put all books under Ruth Ann Nordin.  The exception to this is Amanda Winters, my pen name for fantasy and a YA thriller I plan to publish next month because of October.

However, I feel the need to warn people that my focus will continue to be on historical westerns.  My goal for 2012 is to publish six books in the Nebraska series.  These may or may not focus on the Larsons.  Isaac’s Decision and Her Heart’s Desire do, but I am not sure what four other books I’ll want to write from the Nebraska series.  I’m thinking two of Tom and Jessica’s daughters.  From there, it’s too fuzzy to tell.

I will be doing the 100 words a day for Bound by Honor, Bound by Love.  When I finish that book, I don’t plan to do any more Native American romances.

5.  Anticipated Publishing Dates for Upcoming Books

I have a schedule set up from now to March 2012 on which books will be published and when.  (Note: this is a tentative schedule.)

Shotgun Groom – November 1-20

Isaac’s Decision – January 1-15

Her Heart’s Desire – March 1-15

Nebraska series book untitled – May 1-15

Nebraska series book untitled – July 1-15

Nebraska series book untitled – September 1-15

Nebraska series book untitled – November 1-15

Bound by Honor, Bound by Love – Spring 2013

*Even if I finish books early, I won’t publish them until they are due to be released.  In the event I should die, my husband will be instructed on how to upload and manage books on Kindle and at Smashwords (from Smashwords the distribution is automatic).  I know it’s morbid (and no-I’m not suicidal), but I’ve been reading up on what happens when an author dies and don’t want to see a finished book go unpublished.  Don’t worry.  The work will be registered under the Copyright Office in the US when I finish it.