A New Chapter Might Open in my Life
Things are hectic around here right now because I spent the past two weeks getting the house ready to put up for sale. My time in Montana is coming to an end. It’s time to return to Nebraska. Of course, this is ultimately up to God. If He decides I should stay here, then things will work out so that I can’t move. If He decides I should go, then a door will open for me to go. I’ve finally learned that I need to follow God’s leading. I’ve been hit on top of the head enough by now to have figured that out. 😛 If God wills it, I’ll get another chance to live in Nebraska, and that would be an exciting prospect if it happens.
There is something about physical work and getting away from the computer that opens up the creative mind. I have this current Regency series I’m working on but no idea on what I’ll do for the next one. Then yesterday morning when I finally had a chance to get a good writing session in, I got the idea for Book 1 in a new Regency series. Today as I was writing, the idea has been getting fleshed out because the heroine’s brother in Midnight Wedding is the person I have the idea. Since I’m writing Midnight Wedding, more ideas for his story is working out in the back of my mind. My mind is blank on the historical westerns. I have a fragment of two different ideas, but sometimes those fragments lose their spark, and if there’s not a spark, I refuse to write the story.
I Made Small Progress in my Stories
This is probably the way it’s going to be for a while. I’ll be going at these books at a snail’s pace. My writing is going to be here and there. I have no idea how many books I’ll get out next year, so I’m glad I held off on getting Heiress of Misfortune out in January. That puts off the pressure of having to get to the computer so I can focus on any moving stuff I need to deal with.
Here is the Marriage by Obligation Series and the order of the books:
I managed to get up to 32,000 words in Midnight Wedding. Now we’re shifting into the second part of the book where things take an unexpected turn. I’ve almost completed 100 romances, and I’m just now realizing I have a second part within the middle of the story that marks the transition toward the end. How weird is that? Still, I wouldn’t want to bore myself by plotting a book out first. It’s more fun when I get to find out what happens as I go along. Like today, I discovered that something surprising that is going to happen in the course of this story. That “ah-ha” moment made me fall in love with writing all over again. I don’t want to know exactly how things will play out ahead of time.
I am at 22,000 in The Earl’s Jilted Bride. I have not hit the second part within the middle of the story yet. The heroine is still adjusting to her new marriage and has not been accused of murder yet. I have something that needs to take place before that happens.
I am at 19,000 words in Worth the Risk, and today while I was writing, I wrote out a nightmare scene our hero is going through. I didn’t intend it, but while writing, I picked out the elements in the nightmare and what they represent in the character’s waking life. This romance is turning out to be more psychological in nature than I expected. I guess my Psychology degree didn’t go wasted after all. 😉
Secret Admirer is still in the editing stage. My estimated release month for that book is March.
Ruth Ann Nordin's Author Blog 
Good luck with your move. I hope it goes well. Having gone through that earlier this year, I know how exhausting and stressful those can be.
Yeah, moving is a huge pain. 😀
I hear that. Use something comforting to help you transition, like a favorite blanket or stuffed animal, if you have it. It can help lessen the stress.
Good idea. Thanks!
You’re welcome. You’ll get my invoice next week. 😂
Awesome keep up the great writing, looking forward to reading. Hope you get to make the move, like you said Gods will and if you get to move it could mean even more books because it’s where you want to be. Either way you got this, we are all behind you 🙌🏽
Thank you so much, Evelyn! I do think there’s something to be said for being inspired to write when you’re in a location you want to be in. Montana, while beautiful, has made me feel stuck in a dead end. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure it has impacted my creativity.
That’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way this year, if it’s not His will don’t try to force it, it’ll only end in tears.
My plan earlier this year was to buy a property, every step in the process had a stumbling block and by the time we made it to the very end it all collapsed – money, time and effort all lost. In hindsight, we should have realised it wasn’t God’s will. If He wants you to move to Nebraska it’ll be smooth sailing, if it’s not smooth sailing, stay put.
I’ve always wondered how you come up with the ideas that end up as the books I fall in love with. I’m pretty sure I’ve read all of them at least 3 times, my absolute favourites I’ve read close to 10 times so I’m thrilled to hear your creative juices are flowing and can’t wait to read whatever you write.
P.s if you ever find yourself in England, you’ve got a friend in me!
Your experience is what I’m afraid of. Your experience was terrible. I’m sorry you went through all of that. How heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing it so I can spot the red flags. I’ve been praying to God about this. It’s possible that I might want to go to Nebraska but that it might be better for me to stay in Montana. If He wants me to stay here, I can be happy with it because it will be His will.
Since you mentioned being interested in how I come up with ideas, I think I’ll do a post about how I came up with the idea for the brother of the heroine in Midnight Wedding. I’ll see if any other examples of how I got my ideas come to mind while writing the post, too. I’m really touched that you enjoy my books so much! Thank you for letting me know. It helps me to stay motivated to write when people share that with me.
And thank you! I bet England is a lovely place. 😀
If you have the time to make a blog post on how you get ideas for the book (especially the comedic scenes) I’d love to read it.
I’m happy to share how much I enjoy your books especially if they keep you encouraged, sometimes the critics are louder than the fans
Sounds great! I can see a couple of blog posts stemming from those ideas. 😀
The critics do seem to be louder than the fans, even though I try hard not to let it be that way.
As I told you in an email, I’ve always thought you should be in Nebraska for some reason. I have no idea why I feel that way. But God is in control. Things don’t go well when we try to push against His will. And it could be that He doesn’t mind one way or another which you choose. He can work with things based on our choices sometimes. He knows the future. We don’t.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, but the one I regret most is moving to Montana. I suspect I wasn’t in His Will when I came here, but it’s impossible to say for certain. This time around, I want to make sure I’m not going against what He knows is best.