First of all, thanks to the person who reminded me about the Crossover Page (where I list all of my series and any overlaps) and the Larson Page. I went through and updated those this morning:
Crossover Page for all of my romances
Now to the post…
I have A Perilous Marriage done and up now on pre-order.
I’m not 100% happy with the description, so I’m going to see about tweaking it. I have read books and watched videos on how to make a good book description, and I am still not any good at it. It’s frustrating. Some authors have a gift for this kind of thing. I, unfortunately, am not one of them.
A Perilous Marriage is Book 1 in a brand new Regency series titled Marriage by Necessity. I originally introduced the hero in Kidnapping the Viscount. For quick reference, here’s the cover to help jog anyone’s memory in case they’re wondering what book I’m talking about:
I’m the kind of person who needs a visual aid when trying to remember what someone is talking about.
Anyway, in Kidnapping the Viscount, Charles was the brother who kept unwittingly getting in the way of Heather and Gill as they were trying to find their way to their happy ending. (I got a kick out of how much her brother kept jumping to conclusions, so I thought he’d be perfect for a plot where the hero assumes the heroine killed his best friend.) A warning though, A Perilous Marriage is not a comedy. It’s a more serious book.
A Perilous Marriage is due out May 27. If you prefer to pre-order, here is where you can find it.
I actually finished An Earl In Time.
I didn’t think I was going to get done with the first draft until at least this summer, but once I received help from an author friend who excels in stuff like romance, magic, and gothic elements, it turned out to be a breeze to fix the problems that was bogging me down. I already knew the ending when I started this book, so that was easy to tackle.
I contacted the cover artist about changing the subtitle from “A Time Travel Romance” to “A Fairytale Romance”. While this book is a standalone, I want the ability to write other Regency Fairytale Romances in the future if other ideas happen to come to mind. This Regency has been placed in my regular Regency world. Toward the end of this book, I give a very brief mention of Lord Steinbeck (hero of The Earl’s Wallflower Bride who shows up here and there in other Regencies) and another later mention to Lord Clement (hero of The Earl’s Scandalous Wife who also shows up here and there in other Regencies). Keep in mind, these are just mentions. I couldn’t resist the pull to throw a couple of my other Regency characters into this book, especially since it fit in to do it.
It was fun to do something different within the world I enjoy. I find it helps to keep the creative wells going strong when I allow myself to dip my toes into other areas from time to time.
I started The Cursed Earl
This is Book 2 in the Marriage by Necessity Series.
I suspect this one will be a comedy. The hero is new to the series, but he’s friends with the hero in A Perilous Marriage, and I introduce him in that book. I originally went with Eric, but then I thought I’d go with Algernon, which I established in A Perilous Marriage. Long story short, I thought Eris (based off a friend I know in real life) was too similar to Eric and could lead to come confusion. So he’s now referred to as Algernon.
Anyway, the heroine of The Cursed Earl is also introduced in A Perilous Marriage. She is Charles’ cousin who is in London to find a husband. Algernon is very superstitious, and he’s convinced he’ll die on his 25th birthday. Since his father and older brother are dead (they never were older than 25, hence is fear), he is tasked with the responsibility of having an heir. Reina is secretly in love with him, so she offers to help him with his duty to the crown.
I’ve only just started this, so I’m not really sure how things will go, but since Algernon is a member of White’s, I’m going to bring in Lord Edon and Mr. Christopher Robinson somehow. I’m looking forward to seeing them again.
While I’m discussing the Regencies, I want to mention this before I get to the historical westerns.
I was browsing through the pre-made covers on The Book Cover Designer. I saw two pre-made covers that screamed, “Pick me, Ruth! Pick me!” I gave it a few days to think of what stories would go with the books because the only way I can justify buying a cover is if I have a story for it.
There were only two by this cover artist, and I want three for the series, so I’m getting the third book cover done soon.
This will be the Marriage by Obligation Series. I am going to tuck this series between the Marriage by Fate Series and the Marriage by Fairytale Series because the timeline for this series fits there.
As excited as I am about this series, I can’t start on it until after I finish the Marriage by Necessity Series, so we’re looking at October-November of this year before I start on Secret Admirer.
Here are the books:
Secret Admirer (Marriage by Obligation Series: Book 1)
Remember Cressica from The Perfect Duke?
She was the oldest sister of Nicholas Lidgate, the Duke of Ravenshire. A couple of people mentioned wanting to read her book, and she’ll fit in perfectly in this book. Another thing that plays perfectly for this specific book is the ladies group that Cress (short for Cressica) just joined. The group is an elite social club, and it’s important that Cress marries the right gentleman.
Well, I thought it would be fun to do a heroine falling in love with a servant plot. I loosely approached these in Fairest of Them All and One Enchanted Evening, but the differences in social status between the hero and heroine didn’t factor into the plot. I can use that here because of that elite social group. What I need to do is figure out which male servant I want to be the hero.
Midnight Wedding (Marriage by Obligation Series: Book 2)
I haven’t thought over this one too much yet, but it’s a spin off of the idea for Kidnapping the Viscount, except in this case, the heroine has help from someone in her family in abducting a titled and wealthy gentleman with the intention of saving themselves from financial ruin. This one could go many ways, but this will fit the original idea I had for Kidnapping the Viscount. The original version of that book was a lot different than how it turned out to be.
So in this book, the hero is NOT going to be happy. The heroine is going to be incredibly naive as to just how precarious her position is when she goes through this kidnapping idea her idiot family member(s) had. I recently read a blog post about how ladies could be ruined and financially devastated so easily in this time period if the marriage was dissolved and she’s left with a child. Knowing all of this puts into perspective the reason why certain laws had to be put into place to protect women. The Regency era wasn’t friendly to women in a lot of respects.
The Duke’s Return (Marriage by Obligation Series: Book 3)
I don’t have the cover yet, but I plan to introduce the hero in Book 1 of this series. He’s going to leave the heroine of The Duke’s Return on their wedding day for some reason (haven’t decided yet). He returns in The Duke’s Return, and I’ll see how things go from there.
Now for the historical westerns…
This is Book 3 in the Nebraska Prairie Series:
This was originally meant to be about 30,000 words, but I’m nearing 40,000 words and have more to go. I have a vague idea of how things are going to end. I have probably 5,000 more words to write in order to fully establish the relationship between the hero and heroine before I can come in for what will conclude the story.
At any rate, I should be able to have this out in July.
I haven’t made any progress in this one over the past month or so because I’ve been so focused on An Earl In Time. Now that I wrapped up An Earl In Time, I can get back to this. It is due out in November.
I haven’t forgotten this one. I plan to start on it when I finish Interview for a Wife. That should be (hopefully) in June. I’m looking forward to getting to this one since it’s okay for me to pair up Jeremiah with Katie.
Ruth Ann Nordin's Author Blog 
I don’t know how you do it! I bow to your organizational skills and work ethic. I admire how you juggle kids, home and still put out so many fantastic books a year! They all look wonderful and if it can be pre-ordered, it’s done. I am looking forward to every one of these books. I’ve decided that when I get to retire I am reading your books, in order, from the Crossover page in one great marathon of reading:) Yes, I really do have them all. I hope you get some relaxation time, but please keep writing because I am having so much fun!
My secret is cutting out TV and movies. 😉 I will watch something once in a while, but it has to be something I really want to see.
That Crossover page looks confusing to me when I take a look at it. Does that make sense to you? I’m not sure if there’s a way to simplify it. If you have any ideas on what might make the list more user friendly, please let me know. One idea I thought of was adding the book covers, but I’m not sure if that would only add to the mess.
You’re really a very sweet person, Erica. I enjoy your comments, and I’m not just saying that because you read my books. I find you very encouraging to be around.
That is about the finest compliment a person could receive. Thank you.
I went back and looked at the Crossover page again. Although it is still astounding, I agree the covers could make it more confusing, especially since they have changed over the years. I still have trouble finding some of the books on my “bookshelf”, because the cover changed, but I will get used to the new ones:)
I do like in the Western Section the color-coding and one or two sentences reminding who is in that story. The Regency list is so long it would take you forever to add all that, although sometimes long lists are a little easier to read if the font is a little bigger. The purpose of the list is to show chronological order and it does that, so it’s ok.
I’ll need a chart to keep all these new series straight, but I’m happy that Charles will be getting a story, and super excited for Jeremiah and Katie.
The best part of reading books is getting lost in them. When the characters feel like real people whose lives you are privileged to share, it’s better than any TV. Thanks for writing.
I agree that the cover changes have made things hard for people to find them. I only did that because my quality is nowhere near as polished as what cover artists can do, and I wanted to get rid of the amateurish look. 😀 But yes, once you get used to a certain cover, it is jarring to see another one. I have the same issue when I have bought some books and can’t find them anymore. I end up having to go through my entire list to find what I’m looking for. Now that I’m done tweaking everything, I shouldn’t have a reason to mess with any more covers.
I’m going to go through the Regency section and color code the series since I now have inserted some books between the first series I did. Also, it would be nice to link up the prominent secondary characters who show up again. I don’t know how much I can do with font size, but let me take a closer look at that one. I’ll let you know when I finish it so you can tell me what you think. It’s helpful to have the input. 😀
I keep thinking about the list. I agree not to worry about the font size too much, that was just me thinking out loud. I keep going over in my head the best way to present lists within a list. Color matching like you did in the Western list could definitely help. You could even put the two main characters names after the titles, if maybe people find that helpful. (Logan and Melissa) etc.
I must admit when I am in the mood to read a certain book, I do search by the cover art. It’s the fastest way to find it for me, but I will always recognize my favorite characters names, and cross referencing secondary characters is nice too. Writing the books comes first though:)) Cheery Day today and I will always be happy to help in any way I can.
I went and color-coded the series. That was easy. 😀
I was wondering about whether to use a character’s first name or the title. It looks like using the first name will be best. I’ll see about using a first name and title. For example, “Nate (Lord Roderick)” might not take up too much room. I started on the list and it looks a little long, so I’ll use the first name instead of last names. With the historical westerns, it was easier to figure out the best technique since no one goes by titles in the US. The historical westerns also focus mostly on one family, and that makes things easier, too.
I’ll keep working on it. I’m sure something doable will emerge from all of this. It’s just a matter of tweaking things.
I love the color coding and descriptions you added to the Regency Crossover List. It was very easy to follow and I really like seeing the books that make up a series so easily. Two thumbs up👍👍
I’m glad to hear the list is working out well! I’m currently re-reading some of the books to remember the secondary characters and the role they played in them. It’s slow going at the moment, but I’ll keep chipping away at it.