The second day of 2019 has come and almost gone! I’m chugging along, working with my new journal. I’ve finished tweaking my plans. Now the real work has begun. Yay!

I thought you might like a little stress relief. I know I already need it. Play the puzzle, and then tell me whether you’d like to see more stories with this theme.

Have fun!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who heeded yesterday’s call to action! We’re getting there!

A Request

Most times, I show up here and babble on about what I’m doing, what I’m writing, or some silly thing that’s going on in my life that I want to share. Today’s a little different. I have a request—a call to action.

The last book I’ll have on pre-order for an entire year is Animal, which releases January 22nd. How did I lose the ability to set up pre-orders on Amazon? Life interfered—my grandmother got sick and died and then my father broke his hip. I missed my pre-order dates for two books and Amazon withdrew the privilege. Why does that make me nervous? Well, pre-orders have been hugely important to my success. People see mention of the next story at the end of a book, follow the link, click Buy, and don’t think about it again until the story appears on their device. Or, they see me mention it, think it might be cool to read, and quickly arrange to purchase it before they forget.

Now, I will have to hope readers see my mentions on my website or my ads on Facebook on the day of release. I’m assuming this will result in a huge downturn in my sales. And face it, I write full-time, this is my only job, and the last thing I can weather is a huge pay cut. So, I’m looking for new ways to advertise new releases.

Some of you already follow authors on BookBub. You hear about new releases, hear about free reads or greatly reduced prices on books. I can use them to notify readers, but only if I hit a magic number of followers through BookBub. I need 250 new followers to make that happen.

So, if you have time, and you want to hear about great deals and want to help me out, follow me on BookBub. I’d be forever grateful!

Follow me on BookBub!

Here’s me, wishing everyone a happy 2019!

Cheers! Here’s a toast to 2018!

I’m kind of glad to see this year end. Yes, I’m a year older (I hit the big 6-0!). Don’t care. We’ll never mention it again.

I lost my grandmother to a painfully slow process, which I witnessed firsthand since I was one of her caregivers.

My father, who is diabetic and on dialysis, fell and broke his hip. Again, I’m pitching in with care. He’s mending, but with so many health issues, we just hold our breath day to day.

On the good news side, my dear SIL began work with the local PD—so, you know I’m waiting for that ride-along! Kids are healthy. I’m doing fine. Could use a little more rest and ME time, what with the babysitting and caregiving, but that’s life and you do what you have to do when it’s family.

On an even happier note, there are the 2018 books I delivered. Yes, some were previously subbed stories I had to revise and reissue, but there were some new stories, including five new Montana Bounty Hunters! I love writing that series, and I’m really happy readers are enjoying them so much, too!

But in case you missed what was new in 2018, here’s the list!

New in 2018

1. 01/02/18 – BOUND & DETERMINED, Texas Cowboys series
2. 01/23/18 – SLOW RIDER, Texas Cowboys series
3. 02/13/18 – NIGHT WATCH, Texas Cowboys series
4. 02/27/18 – PIRATES, A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology
5. 03/06/18 – LAYING DOWN THE LAW, The Triplehorn Brand series
6. 03/08/18 – DAGGER, Montana Bounty Hunters series
7. 03/20/18 – IN TOO DEEP, The Triplehorn Brand series
8. 04/03/18 – A LONG, HOT SUMMER, The Triplehorn Brand series
9. 04/05/18 – REAPER’S RIDE, Montana Bounty Hunters series
10. 04/27/18 – THE BOUNTY-2, The Bounty series, short story
11. 05/11/18 – TRUE HEART
12. 05/22/18 – LONE HEART
13. 06/26/18 – COCHISE, Montana Bounty Hunters series
14. 07/17/18 – GARGOYLE’S EMBRACE
15. 08/21/18 – LION IN THE SHADOWS
16. 09/11/18 – SEX ON THE BEACH, SEALS in Paradise/Montana Bounty Hunters series
17. 10/02/18 – SIN’S GIFT, Veiled Alliance series
18. 10/16/18 – HOOK, The Montana Bounty Hunters series
19. 11/07/18 – LOCKDOWN, Veiled Alliance series
20. 12/07/18 – WOLF, The Montana Bounty Hunters series 
21. 12/18/18 –STEPBROTHERS STEPPING OUT: WITH HIS CLIENT, short story

My personal favorites from among these stories…?
Here’s my list, in my order of preference.

  

  

 

As for what’s coming in 2019…?

Well, you know I have more Montana Bounty Hunters coming. Not just the guys in Bear Lodge, but the Kalispell crew, too. And there’s a spinoff coming. I’ve introduced some of the people from R.I.P., so I hope you’re ready to meet my spec ops guys headquartered in Montana!

And remember, if there’s something you’d love to see me write, drop me a line. I love hearing from you, and I’m open to suggestions as I slog along in my writer’s cave. 🙂

Thanks Delilah for another opportunity to visit your fun and informative blog. I love being here!

Today I’m talking about HOME.

Home. Homesick. Right at home.

The hackneyed “Home is where the heart is” is hackneyed for a reason. It’s true.

For me, home means loved ones, friends, family. Or that certain loved one, the significant other.

With him, I might be in a tiny apartment or stranded on a deserted island, or camping under the stars, but together… we’d be home.

Still most of us have been thrown, alone, into unfamiliar places and circumstances where we’re forced to adjust and try to settle in. Feel at home. I’ve moved a dozen times. Maybe you’ve been a student or a soldier or transplanted worker far from home. In those situations, how do you get from homesickto at home?

Maybe home becomes a photograph or a painting, or a ring, or a book? It could be the soothing sound of a familiar accent, the snoring of a pet, an old song played on a guitar or piano or blasted from a car radio? Is it a favorite movie? Maybe it’s a TV show where you can recite the episodes line by line. Friends anyone? The Office?

Is home the sound of the dawn train in the distance or the smell of chicken roasting in the oven?

Someone asked me what the overarching theme of my stories is. At first, I had no answer. My stories are born from a spark of an idea that I turned into a story. A romance. But the more I thought about it the more I knew the people in my contemporary romances are searching for home. Home as a place. Home as a calling or career. And because these are romances home as a person.

Where is your heart? What means home to you? What do you bring from place to place to give you comfort and joy?

My talismans have changed over the years but right now to feel at home I need my dad’s wedding ring and a photo with me and my husband, my daughters and their partners on vacation in California.

CONTEST

Tell me in the comments and leave me your email address (or send it directly to my email address, charlotteoshay@gmail.com), and I’ll gift two random commenters with an ARC of one of my two soon to be released books Their No Strings Affair or my novella Forever in a Moment, OR an ebook copy of one of my first two books, The Marriage Ultimatum or A Model Engagement.

By the way, my publisher, The Wild Rose Press is offering 40% off their entire ebook catalog until December 31, 2018. Check out my contemporary romances and other great stories by my fellow authors there. Just till tomorrow. Click below for the SALE ~ Best deal in town.

Thanks for reading!

charlotteoshay@gmail.com

Click here for The Wild Rose Press Sale
Click here to sign up for news about upcoming books Charlotte O’Shay Author
Click here to Follow Charlotte on BookBub for info about releases and sales

UPDATE: The winner is…Michelle Levan!
*~*~*

I’m a planner by nature and education. I make lists. FOR EVERYTHING. That doesn’t mean I’m super-organized. It just means I track my achievements and know all too well where I fall short.

I teach a free goal-setting class every December to other authors, hoping that while I kick their butts to think about what they want to achieve that I’m inspired to do the same.

So far, I have listed everything I want to do writing-wise. I started out with a goal of making my life a lot easier next year with a sedate writing pace… Yeah. By the time I figured in everything I NEED to write, that easy plan went out the window. Crazy as it is, I have my 2019 writing plan mapped out. But work’s not everything, right?

What about real life? Family fun and obligations. Fitness goals (ha!). My artistic goals (paint for fun, re-open my Etsy store, produce something to sell…). Build my savings. Get ready for retirement (like that will ever happen!).

To get all my goals in alignment, I set up a Bullet Journal. I’ve kept one for about three years now. It’s time-consuming. A pain in the ass to set up and maintain, but everything I need to do is captured in one little journal book. That’s what I’m trying to wrap up today.

So, my question to you is whether you worry about the coming year. Do you plan? Set resolutions? Set up journals or calendars? Answer for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

I’ve spent some time this last month thinking about being an author and what it means to me. A few weeks ago an aspiring author was telling me she models herself after me.

What?

My career is a work in progress. The more I learn, the more I find that I don’t know a thing. Publishing is constantly changing and the demand for Romance is high, but so is the output from authors. I love that Indies have broken through the barriers and can give readers what they want and what they didn’t know they needed. The days of Gatekeepers are done and readers can find a story about almost any combination of partners and players. We are also faced with a tough economy, declining sales, sky-rocketing advertising costs, and a genre that is filled with many sub-par to downright crappy books. Everybody is entitled to their opinion and some feel the need to not only state in a review they didn’t like the book, but to attack the author personally.

So What’s A Writer To Do?

1. You create a village of support. Find your tribe. This doesn’t happen overnight; you will gain and lose members of your circle. You hold on to those that are kind to you and then repay them with the same.
2. You get over your damn self. This world is filled with ego. I believe that you have to have a healthy one in order to survive. However, diva-like ways are not acceptable. Think before speaking and then think again. Do not become a professional victim, instead be the one that others turn to for strength. Please know that in order to succeed and survive that you have to hustle every day.
3. Give back. When I was starting this journey, I had author friends share great advice with me. I was disheartened to find that one of my favorite authors, and friend, was not helpful. In fact, she looked at me as someone who was trying to take money from her pocket. She is an award-winning author who hits lists with almost every book in no way was I her competition. I decided not to be like her. If you are new, ask me and I will try to give you a good and very honest answer. I’m a cheerleader—I want you to succeed because then I can enjoy your victories.
4. Like REO Speedwagon says, “Roll with the Changes” (Google the 80’s band). Enjoy the highs and trudge through the lows. In this business, it can change within the next hour. Turn off social media, talk to your trusted friends, take a walk, love on your pet. It will get better!
5. Get a Team and treat them well. In the beginning, I had “people.” It took me about two years to figure out that they weren’t giving me their best effort. So I broke up with them and I found other people. My Admanistrative Assistant dropped into my life because we both worked the overnight shift and were bored out of our heads. He read and wanted to learn more about how a book is created, and I have the talent of breaking a computer, so he taught me how to do things without making the screen go blank. I use two cover artists for different series and I adore them both. I speak their creative language and designing covers is a joy. Finding the right editor took time. I started with a highly recommended company, but the critiquing style nearly broke me. I lost my confidence and dreaded the day when the returned edits hit my inbox. When I finally had enough, I started looking around. The relationship with your editor is one of faith, guidance, and a good bit of hand-holding. I trust this person with my most intimate thoughts regarding my ideas. I took an online class and loved how the instructor handled some pretty zany ideas. She never said, “That sucks,” or “Are you insane?” Instead, she gently offered a different direction or explained how the idea could be better served. I mustered my courage and asked if she was taking on new clients, she was, and we are still together. She knows I will never handle commas correctly and I trust that she will make my story better, so I listen when she shares her thoughts. She is a nurturer and that is exactly what I need.
6. Know when it is time. If you are unhappy, dreading “writing time,” or cringing anytime you think about your career—get out. Life is too short to do something that makes you miserable.

So yeah, I’m an Author. I love what I do even through the tough times, the uncertain times, the days where I reread what I wrote and wonder how I could have done it any worse. To me, all of that is part of the deal. The good outweighs the bad. Because of writing I have made friends all over the world, traveled to events where we discuss books, I’ve met artists that I admire, seen more than my share of stupidity, and listened to hurtful comments and wondered if I belonged. Still, every morning I wake up and look forward to sitting down with my laptop, sharing the scene that plays over and over in my head, and telling you my story.

Stay Strong and Remember what REO preaches.