Heroic Greatness

After my frolic with all things romance last week, I decided to investigate the details and depth of heroes. Have you ever wondered what it is that makes great heroes great? Me too. I’ve had so much fun researching different opinions about them. If you enjoy fiction, whether books or movies, I’m thinking you’ll have opinions about what makes a good hero. The characteristics might not be what you think.

From Perfectionism to Peace

I’m so honored to host an amazing debut author, Keli Gwyn on my blog today. Hopefully by the time you read this I will have actually gotten to hug her neck! And even though I’m officially at the national conference for the American Christian Fiction Writers, I’ll be checking in to chat with those of you who stop by and say hi!

Guest Post by Keli Gwyn

Does perfectionism plague you?

Interview with Historical Romance Author Keli Gwyn

I’m delighted to have Keli Gwyn visiting today. Her debut novel, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California has become one of mine and Precious Redhead’s favorites. There’s nothing better than finding a book you can share with your daughters, but I’ll expound on that another time. You can find my review of Keli’s book HERE.

Historical Romance at its Best!

I stayed up way too late last night finishing debut author, Keli Gwyn’s, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California. What a delightful story; three crying opportunities! LOL!

This book is propelled by its characters. And such characters! A widow/single mom with bull-dozing determination insists on proving her capabilities. A fastidious widower harboring a guilt-filled secret refuses to revisit the vulnerable position in which affection places him. An adoring mother whose meddling ways instigate complicated interaction. A talkative nine-year-old with the sincerity and wonder of one much younger, but the intellect and daring of one much older.

A Bride Opens Shop follows Elenora Watkins to the rather new California town of El Dorado where she finds disappointment, unwarranted suspicion, and discrimination. Rather than allowing the attitudes to defeat her, Elenora used them to strengthen her resolve to prove to the townspeople, and maybe more to herself, that she has the capabilities to accomplish her goal.

What I loved most about this book was the consistency of the characters. Not that they remain the same, both main characters complete a satisfying arc. But as they adjust and redirect, they stayed true to their personalities. For example, only a desperate emergency would persuade the always well-dressed Miles Rutledge to disregard his appearance.

In fact, Elenora stays so true to her character, she builds up regrets about it. I must say, during a special contest, I had hopes that she would step down rather than risk injury to someone else, but true to form, she can’t seem to shrink from a challenge.

These people seemed so real in their reactions, they make the reading easy, the changes believable, and the story an absolute gold mine, worthy of the name El Dorado! Five hearts! ♥♥♥♥♥

From her bio: Keli Gwyn writes stories that transport readers to the 1800s, where she brings historic towns to life, peoples them with colorful characters, and adds a hint of humor. A California native, she lives in the Gold Rush-era town of Placerville at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her debut novel, A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California, set in the heart of the Gold Country where she lives is currently available.

When Keli’s fingers aren’t hovering over the keyboard of her newfangled laptop, she enjoys strolling past stately Victorian houses in her historic town, burying her nose in reference books as she unearths interesting facts to include in her stories, and interacting with other romance readers. Her favorite places to visit are her fictional worlds, the Coach factory outlet store, and Taco Bell.

Website and Social Media Links

Website – http://www.keligwyn.com
Facebook Timeline – http://www.facebook.com/KeliGwyn
Facebook Page – http://www.facebook.com/KeliGwynReadersGroup
Twitter – http://twitter.com/#!/KeliGwyn
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5411901.Keli_Gwyn
Title: A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California

The story is a sweet romance with hints of humor that readers of Margaret Brownley, Erica Vetsch, or Karen Witemeyer’s work might enjoy.

Content Matters – Three Ways to Hone Your Blog

When I started blogging, I got the idea that my blog consisted of an online journal. Whatever stimulated my imagination went onto the web. Yikes! And that’s how I feel when I look back at some of my posts from last year at this time.

Meanwhile, all of the social media articles I read clamored that I should have a focus to my blog. A platform. It took awhile for me to get the point. My blog needs to be an extension on my writing in such a way that the people who read my blog might also be interested in my books.

Not so hard for non-fiction writers since their main topics would obviously make up the perfect environment for their blogs. Anyone interested in the articles they write would easily be interested in their books. But I write fiction.

Being a novelist makes the exercise tricky. Some folks have a settled focus, like Ronie Kendig and her Discarded Heroes series about military suspense. With military being the main setting of her novels, it makes a great base for her blog. (No pun intended!)

Keli Gwyn‘s blog is another good example. Her romance novels exist in the Victorian age so her blog also details articles about romance and about the historical era she loves.

It’s quite a challenge to compile a platform. But there are some steps you can take to discover your own unique place on the World Wide Web.

1. Connect with your books.

Now I’m currently unpublished, but I still have two books completed. A third book planned and a supporting short story that goes along with the others. I may not have anything to sell right now, but blogging before publishing builds a base of folks who might be interested in my fiction when my books do hit print.

The more people who enjoy your online writing, the more chances for your books to sell.

So how can you hook your books to your blog? Do you write about children or animals? Do the main characters have a unique occupation? Do they come from an interesting place? Maybe their hobbies can stimulate your content? Anything that can connect your story to your articles is a major plus.

2. Know your audience

In order to provide information that will meet the folks you want to meet, you need to do your homework. Start out by discovering the genre in which you normally write. Not all writing fits in perfect little boxes, but you can tell the difference between historical and steam punk, right? Get close to the appropriate genre and then do some research. What type of people normally like that genre?

This is important because you don’t want to write blog content that will be wasted on folks who couldn’t care less about your book. Just because you might like dirt biking or mountain climbing doesn’t mean that the majority of people who read cozy mysteries will like the same thing. Get the picture?

Your facts don’t have to be scientific surveys. You can look through pics of Facebook folks who like your genre, or search the category on a Twitter hashtag. Get a feel for it beyond yourself. What ages, races, genders will go for your book? And what types of things would those ages, races, genders like to read about?

3. Unless you’re an expert, don’t only write for other writers.

This is a hard lesson for me. I call myself a jack of all trades, master of none. I know a little bit about a lot of things, but it’s easy to write about writing, because that’s what I’m doing right now. And in truth, MANY writers devote their entire blog to the journey of publishing —- and successfully! But for me, settling into that easier comfort zone limits my audience. Besides, the authors writing about the world of publishing know a heck of a lot more about it than I do.

So I have to pursue other things that future readers of my Christian Romantic Suspense stories will like.

Armed with my knowledge that I’m smack-dab in the middle of the age group for romance readers, I can look to myself and my friends for things that they are interested in. Some things that come to mind: Homeschooling, craft fairs, church activities, kid activities, art, history, travel, event-planning, interior decorating, weddings, grandchildren.

None of those topics have much to do with my books, but these gals (for the most part) read my genre. I need to delve into things that are interesting to them. (Thankfully they are also interesting to me!)

My stories don’t really have a great hook like a historical premise or a specific population of folks. Set in a fictional small town in Texas, their location also doesn’t draw curiosity or a wealth of topics. So I’ll focus on the fact that they are first – Christian. Thursdays is my posting day for inspiration and devotion.

Tuesdays I’ll hit one of the topics that interest Christian romantic suspense readers. Shouldn’t be too hard since I’m a homeschooling, event-planning, craft fair goer, and scrap-booker with kids nearing the wedding stages of their lives.

That leaves my Wednesdays open for offering helpful information to other writers. As I’m learning, I’d like to share to make someone else’s road easier.

Your turn: Help other writers get a feel for this! What is your favorite genre, your age, and your primary hobby? And while you’re at it, what types of blog posts do you most like to read?