Kelly Moran's Blog: From Kelly's Lips....

Kelly's Birthday GIVEAWAY!

Check out Kelly's Birthday Giveaway over on Rafflecopter on 9/14-9/21/21:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/disp...?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Redwood Ridge #6 COVER REVEAL!

Hello Everyone!

As promised, today is the cover reveal for Redwood Ridge's holiday novella!

I'm so excited. Go check out the book page, see the gorgeous cover, and add it to your "want to read" shelf!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Release dates coming soon.

Thanks!
Kelly

New Redwood Ridge BLURB Reveal

Hello, everyone!

I'm SO excited to release the blurb for the Redwood Ridge novella I've been announcing all week. Without further ado..... Here you go!

What happens when one of the notorious town matchmakers gets the tables turned on her?

As the long-time mayor of quaint little Redwood Ridge, Oregon, what Marie Sedgwick is most proud of is how she and her two sisters have been able to help patrons find their perfect match. Sure, townsfolk call them The Battleaxes, and yeah, she and her sisters do tend to meddle. Yet, nothing is more important than true love. It’s something that slipped between her fingers once, and she’s regretted it ever since. Except, that so-called regret just showed up after twenty years, looking like a sexy fox, and knocking her world off its axis. And though she’s been trying to avoid him, it suddenly seems this holiday season, she’s the one with a Cupid target on her back.

After all his adventures, Preston Masterson has finally returned to the place he always thought of as home with two goals. One, to transform the old Freemont Mansion into a charming Inn by Christmas. And two, to win back the heart of the woman he was stupid enough to let get away in his misspent youth. But nothing is going as planned. Remodeling has hit one snag after another, and Marie is more stubborn than he remembered. Which is saying a lot since she’s quite a brilliant, gorgeous spitfire. Yet, ‘tis the season, and with the help of some Redwood Ridge residents-turned-angels, perhaps he won’t need mistletoe magic to pull off a miracle. Still, it wouldn’t hurt…

Comment with your thoughts!
COVER REVEAL IS TOMORROW!!!!!

Kelly

HUGE Redwood Ridge Announcement

As promised, I have HUGE news in the Redwood Ridge world. Are you ready? Well...are you? LOL.

Here goes....

There will be a 6th book in the series. I know, I know! I said I was done after Parker got his HEA in book 5, but readers everywhere and my editor in Germany talked me into writing another.

So, I will tell you a bit about the story. It's a holiday novella, and the goal is to release it in the U.S. this Christmas season, and in Germany next year this time. No promises, but I'm trying hard.

What's it about? you ask. Let me just say this:
What happens when one of the matchmaking Battleaxes gets the tables turned on her by the town residents?

Come back tomorrow for an official blurb, and on Friday for the cover reveal. In the mean time, tell me all about what you're feeling in the comments.

Thank you, and catch ya tomorrow!!! xo

Kelly

Redwood Ridge News...

Hello, lovely readers.

For those of you who are fans of the 5 books in my Redwood Ridge series, I have some exciting news coming next week.
Next week, you say? But....
I know, I know. But I promise it'll be worth it.
Stay tuned and check back in soon for deets.

MAKE SURE YOU'RE FOLLOWING ME HERE ON Goodreads!!!

Here's the link to the series on my site where you can check out trailers, blurbs, etc.

https://www.authorkellymoran.com/redw...

Talk soon!
Kelly
XO

Signs & Symptoms of Reader Bipolar Disorder

Signs & Symptoms of Reader Bipolar Disorder
(An author's spin on Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck")

If you rave about how much you loved a book, gush to the moon and back, then give it 2-3 stars...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you pick apart a book and criticize it to death, claim you hate it with the fire of a thousand suns, then give it 5 stars...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you've read every book on an author's backlist, continually buy all their new releases, but have yet to give any of the books more than 1-2 stars...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you know you don't like a certain trope, read a book that clearly states in the blurb it has said trope in it, then complain in your review because of aforementioned trope...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you dislike a specific sub-genre, read a book where it's apparent it's the sub-genre you dislike, then downgrade the book in your review because of said sub-genre...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you write a review that has a character name, the setting, and/or a major plot point wrong, but insist you've read the book...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you purposely seek out a book because you hate the cover model or heard rumors about the author, then slam the book with 1-stars without actually basing the review on the book itself...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you say in your review you enjoyed the story and writing, then issue 2-3 stars because you don't like the cover font, the hero/heroine's hair color doesn't precisely match, and/or the cover background isn't to your version of an exact T...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

If you criticize a book, stating in your review what you would've done had you written the book, when in fact you didn't write the book, and said review has no real bearing on the story...You might have Reader Bipolar Disorder.

Go forth and review responsibly, and happy reading! xo

Worldwide Star Rating System:
1★ = Hated the book. You want to give your mind a bleach bath.
2★ = Disliked the book. It wasn't for you.
3★ = Meh or Lukewarm. You neither hated nor loved it.
4★ = Liked the book a lot. It gave you warm fuzzies and followed you around like a lost puppy.
5★ = Loved the book. You want to hug it and squeeze it and pet it and call it George.

*Disclaimer: Reader Bipolar Disorder is not an actual condition. Post to be taken as humorously intended.

So You Wanna Write...

So, you wanna write. Good for you. And I mean that sincerely without my typical sarcasm. As someone who heard constantly growing up, "A writer? What about a real job?" I totally understand. If you're contemplating doing such a thing, you're already among my rare breed who live inside your head, have characters talk to you, and often go off to la-la land during a conversation. It's okay, I get it.

In saying that, here's some advice I wish someone had given me when I first started. Mixed in is advice others gave me or things I learned along the way. This article is targeted for fiction writing.

READ OUT LOUD: Ignore the dog's crazy eye and do it. Seriously. Reading your MS (manuscript) out loud will help you find problem areas and smooth out your flow.

CLICHES: Avoid them like the plague. Enough said on that. Right? Right.

WANDERING BODY PARTS: I don't mean in a possession kind of way. Body parts cannot move of their own accord.
Example: His hand reached for the glass.
Correct: He reached for the glass.

DIALOGUE TAGS: These are he said/she saids. Most of the time they're not needed and you can go deeper into the story by not using them. Replace (in most cases) with an action.
Example: "I'll do it," he said.
Action: He took the envelope from her. "I'll do it."

SHOW, NOT TELL: This is the hardest to learn, without a doubt. Also described as narrative, you can easily slip into this without knowing. There are "tell" words to look for, such as: heard/hear, saw/see, felt/feel, watch/ed, etc.
Telling: She watched his face change and felt scared.
Showing: His expression darkened as his eyes narrowed, and her heart stopped beating.

BODY LANGUAGE: This is key to making your characters dimensional and alive to the reader. Your characters' mannerisms say a lot without speaking a word. It can show the reader when someone's scared, pissed off, or bursting with fruit flavor in glee. In saying that, each character should have their own language that's solely theirs. For instance, if your main character rubs his neck when frustrated, your secondary character should do something else, like pinch the bridge of his nose.
Example: He clenched his fists, sucked in a breath, and ground his jaw.
Says exactly what's going on, doesn't it?

POV: Point-of-view (POV) should be clear at all times, especially after chapter and section breaks. This is who's telling the story in that particular instance. Though this is up for argument, most editors do not want head-hopping, so stay in one POV per scene. Your book should also not contain a POV for every character. Stick to your main characters only. With regards to POV also comes knowledge. If you're in Main Character A's head, Main Character B won't be privy to certain info. They can only know what's shown.
Example: (We're in Character A's POV) Character A glanced at Character B as Character B thought about her mother.
Correct: Character A glanced at Character B and figured she was thinking about her mother, as she always got that haunted look when she did.
See the body language as well as the POV fix? Character A can't possibly know what Character B was thinking. Remember that when writing.

RESEARCH: And I mean everything. If your main character is a fireman, you better know terms and job specifics, including equipment. If your setting is Texas, you better learn the climate, the slang, and everything down to trees and flowers. Research. It makes your book accurate and readers will know when you haven't. Period.

DIALOGUE: There's two types: Internal and External. External is what's actually said. Every conversation the characters have should move the plot along.
"How are you?"
"Good, and yourself?"
"Not bad."
Are you bored? I'm bored. Cut out the fluff and meaningless. Get to it. External should also imitate actual conversation and reflect your character's personality. With regards to external dialogue, remember people speak in contractions.
Example: "Do not go in there."
Correct: "Don't go in there."
Internal dialogue is what's inside the character's head, but isn't spoken. This is usually what the character thinks between conversation or when alone. Internal should also move the plot along. Too much and it bores the reader.

PACING: This can also be difficult to learn. What helped me was writing out a generic timeline for my book ahead of time. I jot down a few notes on what I want to happen in each chapter. It helps me find slow spots and keeps me on task too. Your book should start with an action scene. The character should be doing something, in other words. It hooks the reader. Mix up dialogue, action, and internal for good balance or your pacing is off and slows things down. Things should progress slowly through your MS. Not all at once. Don't wrap everything up in a tidy bow either.

END ON A WOW: Chapters should end with a cliffhanger or a revelation. Newbies often want to wrap things up like a mini sitcom and go on. You want the readers to say, "Okay, one more chapter," not put the book down. Keep them interested. Keep them turning the page.

BACKSTORY: This biggest problem for newbies…they want the reader to know everything right away. Guess what? The reader doesn't. Not really. Backstory should be worked in slowly, dropped when appropriate, and fed in small spurts. The reader needs to know what's going on, yes, but if you give it to them when and where it's necessary, it makes for a much more clever read. Make them work for it!

LESS IS MORE: There are a lot of words that usually aren't necessary to a sentence: that, had, up, back, and down. Most of the time, delete them. Your writing should also be clean, clear, concise. Avoid excess verbiage.

CONFLICT: Both Internal and External conflict are important. So are your characters' goals. What's keeping them from achieving what they seek? Conflict should also resolve by the end of the MS, realistically, always. Always! External conflict often refers to outside influences, and internal refers to personality or character conflict. As stated before, your characters should "grow" throughout the book. Without conflict, nothing keeps the reader turning the page.

METAPHORS & SIMILIES: Use them very sparingly. Too many and it pulls the reader out. Strong writing can do without them.

ADVERBS: This is up for debate as well, but most editors see adverbs as a sign of weak writing. These, of course, are LY ending verbs. Action and detail are better. As I said, show, not tell.

WHITE SPACE/POWER SENTENCES: When used correctly and sparingly, these can really punctuate a point and nail a reader to their spot. These are one word or one short sentences that stand by themselves. Here's an example from my upcoming series. (This is copyrighted). Note the two last lines stand out by themselves, adding power.
Before a word could be uttered, five thunderous slams resounded from the second floor. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. All in succession. So loud, with such force, the floor shook, the walls vibrated and his ribs rattled. The hairs on his arms rose as his limbs locked. His lungs emptied.
Five bedroom doors crashing hard against their frames.
With no one up there to close them.

5 SENSES: Use them. Learn them. It puts the reader where the characters are. This can be done subtly, and usually should. Smell, touch, taste, sight, sound. Add them without telling the reader.
Example: As he enveloped her in his solid arms, she inhaled his familiar earthly scent and the tension drained from her shoulders.

REPETITION: Avoid it. Do not repeat yourself. Repeating yourself makes readers mad. Give them credit. If you told them, they'll remember. If it's something that bears repeating, or is pivotal, incorporate it into the story in a different way than the first time. We don't need to know 50 times in a manuscript that she was abused as a child or that he went to work at 5 a.m. on the day his daughter was kidnapped. This also is true for word repetition. It's a weakness most authors don't notice they do. Be aware of it.
Example: She walked across the street, dodging several cars until making it safely on the other side. Several cars honked at her in her attempt to cross the street, making her nerves leap.
Not only does this repeat itself, it uses the word "street" and "cars" twice.
Correction: She walked across the street, dodging several cars until making it safely across, but the loud honks made her nerves leap.

OXFORD COMMA: Use it or don't. An editor will tell you after contract which they prefer. Just be consistent in using it or not in your MS.
Oxford: Blind, deaf, and dumb.
No Oxford: Blind, deaf and dumb.

LOOSE ENDS: Tie them up, people. Do not leave loose ends in your MS. If your character's dog gets locked in a warehouse in chapter 5, there should be a mention of how he got out or rescued by the end of the book. Your readers will remember and it'll make 'em mad.

TIMELINE: Know your timelines and know them well. If your character is 50 years old at the start of your MS, and in chapter 7 it mentions he's a WWII vet, then you have a problem, Batman. If her eyes are blue in chapter 1, but in chapter 3 they're green, you have a problem. Make sure everything lines up and it's accurate. Consistent. My agent has her authors do a character chart. It lists ever character, main and secondary, along with their info such as: age, characteristics, job, etc. Try it. It helps.

CRITIQUE PARTNERS: Get one. In fact, get two. CPs are wonderful tools. They can spot problem areas and tell you everything from where they're confused in your MS to what they like. They help you tweak and make it your best work possible. Your CPs should be writers too, published or not (pubbed is better), and should write in the same genre as you. They should be honest, but not brutal. You can find fellow writers on any social network and approach them with respect. My CPs and I are through the same literary agency, but my previous ones I met online and through writers groups. We send each other our manuscripts, chapter by chapter, and use Track Changes in Word to make comments and changes. I also suggest a writers group. There is one for nearly every genre, such as: Romance Writers of America, Midwest Fiction Writers, Mystery Writers of America, etc. Attend workshops and conferences if you can.

EDIT, EDIT, EDIT: Writers only get better the more they write. Every MS is stronger than the last. You should also read in the genre you write. Most of the issues I see with Indies is hitting "the end" and uploading. The edit process is important. I find after two rewrites and revisions, that reading the MS backwards helps me find problems. As writers, we know our MS pretty well, so doing this puts the MS in a different perspective.

So there you have it. My Yoda writing advice. I hope it helps you out. I also hope you achieve everything you wish. Dreams only die when you give up. So don't. Don't give up and don't let someone tell you that you can't. You can.

10 Things Every Writer Wished You Knew...

In case you haven’t guessed, I’m an author. I love being an author. It’s what I’ve always wanted to be from the time I first started reading as a kid. Not only that, but it’s something I have to do. Yes, have to. We creative types are lost and broken without the ability to make our characters heard. In that regard, here’s a list to take into consideration.

Top 10 Things Writers Wished You Knew:

• Oddballs. Yes, we are. We know it. We may be at your Christmas party or summer BBQ with 200 people, but sitting alone. It’s because we’re watching. Plotting. We often live in our own heads and are sometimes socially awkward because make-believe is where we exist. Don’t take offense. We probably still love you.

• Money. Contrary to popular opinion, we’re not rolling in it. Getting published doesn’t mean we’re resting easy and hiring maids. You’d cringe to find out what the average advance is nowadays. Unless you hit the bestseller list with more than a few books and stayed there, it’s pretty safe to say we’re in the ballpark of middleclass. And that’s the traditionally published with larger houses. Never mind the small press and Indies out there.

• Work. Eh hem. Let me be clear. We. Do. Work. We don’t watch Hallmark Channel and eat Cheetos all day. Unless we got a really bad review, but I’ll get to that. Seriously, though. I can’t tell you how many times I heard: “So-and-so isn’t doing anything, ask her.” “So-and-so stays home all day. She has the time.” “It must be nice.” Sigh. Working from home takes discipline. It’s not easy. Yes, I get to stay in yoga gear and suck coffee through a straw, but I’m working. Let me lay this out for you. On average, we produce 2-3 books per year (80,000 to 100,000 words/300-500 pages.) That means written, polished, critiqued and ready to send off to our publisher. Besides doing the actual writing, we have 1-2 manuscripts coming in from our editors for rewrites and editing changes to the books written before publication, and this process sometimes happens 10-20 times, depending. To top that off, we have the books being released that have to be marketed, toured and talked about for sales – which means attending online parties through blogs and Facebook pages, physical book signings, and making sure our presence is known. Throw in conferences and everyday family life? Throw in critique partners and street teams? Yeah. Enough said.

• Say What? There are several phrases we authors lump into this category. Here’s a few that make us facepalm. “What’s your real job?” “If I had the time, I’d write a book.” “You should write about this…” “That’s so cute.” “Are you any good?” “When are you going to write a real book?” I kid you not. We get these, and many more, all the time. I once had someone say, in front of a room full of people, “I like to read romance books between real books because they’re mindless. Any monkey can read or write one.” Yep. I’m a romance writer. And proud. Watch what you say, people.

• Feelings. We may be odd, but we have feelings. When you didn’t care for one of our books and then slam it in a review–or in person–it kinda kills us dead inside. I read too. There are a lot of books I didn’t care for, but I would never say some of the things I’ve read or heard. Tact, people. Tact. There’s a living, breathing person behind those books. You can still hate the book with the fire of a thousand suns, but use discretion when leaving those stars on sites.

• Grammar. We silently correct it in your posts, tweets and in person. Always. Al-ways! Sometimes we judge you too, but won’t say so. We also text in full sentences. Get used to it.

• Engage. A little secret. We like author stalkers. Not the dead roses on the doorstep kind, but those that follow us on Facebook or Twitter, leave emails, attend events, and comment where appropriate. Even on non-writing things. The more like/comments/retweets a post gets, the more people see it too. Just so you know, we do this for you. We like connecting with people through our words and like knowing that we touched you in some way. Not inappropriately, of course. Clothing optional.

• Freebies. We get asked a lot for a signed copy of our book to “try” out. We often hear, “I gave your book to a friend.” Okay, thanks. Very cool. But, um…it would benefit us more for you to spread the good word so they can buy their own. Also, some of us have street teams, go to conferences, attend book signings, or host giveaways. These things aren’t cheap, nor are the eBooks and paperbacks we donate. Be grateful. Understand that money and effort goes into these things. If you can’t use swag that was gifted to you, pass it on to someone else instead of throwing it out. Libraries and book clubs are a good place.

• Reviews. I cannot stress enough how important they are. Leave. A. Review. Pretty please. The more reviews, the more exposure. Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iTunes are the ones coming to mind. It takes a few minutes of your time and means the world to us. The biggest way to support an author or book is to leave a review. Every. Time.

• Pirates. And not the sexy “arg” kind. There’s been a lot of talk lately about Amazon’s return policy. (If you don’t know, you can buy an eBook and have 7 days to return it.) People are one-clicking, reading, and returning it within the grace period. Here’s the thing…Amazon is not a library. By doing this, you are physically taking money out of an author’s pocket. The editor, cover artist and agent’s too. Hard earned money by working. (See above post.) In addition, there are a number of pirate sites that have our books listed for free. If it’s not the publisher, Retail Daily Deal, a bonafide library, or an author-posted giveaway…it’s stealing. Plain and simple. You may as well walk into a Starbucks with a loaded water pistol and demand all the frappes. At a get-together not long ago, this discussion came up. Someone said, “Is it wrong? Yes. Will I keep doing it? Yes. It is what it is.” *Grinds teeth* It is the equivalent of someone taking one hour off your paycheck “just because,” that’s what it is.

Anyway, there you have it. Please take these things into consideration and use this newfound information for good. Go forth into the world and be happy, well educated readers, for you now know the inside scoop on authors. Godspeed.