Too Many Words In My Head

 

Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

So, you all know that I’m working on Wife Unexpected, the fourth book in the Wives of Bravado County series, and I open that file every weekday to add more words to the story, but here’s what happened.

I’m going along, writing, deleting, rewording, trying again when all of a sudden, another character’s voice pops into my head. Now, I’ve been fully immersed in Faith and Tysen, hearing them talk to me (most times…sometimes they don’t say anything and I’m left trying to figure out what they want) but this was a different voice. Low and deep, kinda rumbling, a little on the hoarse side, but very pleasant…and persistent. Oh my gosh! So persistent!

"Write me!”

“Tell my story!”

Because I didn’t recognize this voice (no, hearing voices doesn’t  scare me because I hear the voices of my characters all the time. I’m not sure if other writers do. Maybe it’s just me.), I tried to ignore it. That didn’t work because it just became more insistent. And louder.

What was I to do? 

I was intrigued (and a little annoyed) by this persistent voice so I started asking it questions. You know—like who are you? Why are you talking to me NOW, when I’m knee-deep in another story? What do you want?

He just kept repeating ‘tell my story’.

“Well, I can’t tell your story if you don’t tell me who you are.”

Yes, I said this out loud. It was a good thing no one else in the house was awake, just the dogs, who are used to hearing me talk to myself.

“Tell my story,” came the answer again.

So here I am, sitting at my computer at 4:30 in the morning, arguing with a voice inside my head (and yes, talking to myself).

“Who are you?”

I hear laughter and that lovely voice says “Ryland Harper.”

Ryland Harper. Ryland Harper. I know that name (and I should because I name all my characters) and then it hits me, like a cast-iron skillet upside my head. He’s the hero in Mrs. Marlowe and The Monday Man, the fifth story in the Matchmaker Mischief series. Holy cow! I haven’t even written the fourth story yet!

“Why are you here now, Ryland?” I asked (the dog, my big girl, lifts her head from the futon and just stares at me, blinking her beautiful and confused brown eyes.) “You know I’m not ready for you yet.”

“Don’t care. You gotta write my words before you forget.”

And so I did. Easiest (and fastest) 900 words I’ve ever written (in less than an hour because I have limited time in the morning).

Ryland was happy and quieted because he’d gotten his way, but not before telling me he’d be back and I was able to get back to Tysen and Faith.

I guess it pays to listen to the voices in your head even if you’re not ready for them.  

And that’s all for me. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

WATCHING THE EARL by Lexi Post preorder is available for 99¢ for a limited time!

Watching the Earl (Courting a Curious Lady: Book 6) 

by Lexi Post 

is available for a 99¢ preorder, but only for a few days.

Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA

She’s ruined. He’s lost it all. A perfect match?

Lady Georgina is devastated. The lord who said he loved her, ruined her, then married another. Now her parents are desperate to keep her situation private by marrying her off to the first willing man no matter who it is. But even then, everything depends on her keeping her shame a secret…and she’s never kept a secret in her life.

Lord Philip Durham has lost it all on a sure bet. Desperate to save his father’s legacy and keep his situation hidden, he agrees to marry a woman with a large dowry. Discovering she’s also ruined only makes him more determined since it’s fitting penance for his past failings. Being forced to make a life with her, and thereby raising his family’s reputation, will satisfy both of his goals.

However, Lady Georgina appears to have goals of her own, including digging into his awkward family dynamics and returning to London for the remainder of the Season. As she becomes more confident, she seems to rise from the ashes of her old life like the mythical Phoenix. But can he avoid being burned or will her transformation bring him down in flames?

Releasing September 25th

Catch up on all the Curious Ladies

About Lexi:

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance and the classics. Whether it’s sizzling cowboys, dashing dukes, hot immortals, or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you’ll never see her without a hat.

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Work In Progress

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        It’s a beautiful morning as I sit down to enjoy my first cup of coffee and write this. It’s still hot, but this is summer in Arizona…and it’ll be hot for a while. That’s okay. The air conditioner is humming away so I’m staying cool. They say you get used to the heat, but I’ve been here forty-five years now and I can honestly say, no, I haven’t gotten used to it. Still, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

        It’s been a busy week (it always is between the day job and the home stuff) but I feel like I accomplished a few things, especially on the writing front. I am 42K words into my current work in progress (Wife Unexpected, the fourth book in the Wives of Bravado County series). Now, whether these are good words or not remains to be seen. I am wondering if I somehow got off track, which is entirely possible. Like the last book I wrote (The Madam & Mr. MacLean), I did not write an outline or plot points so I’m winging it…and of course, writing the scenes as they come to me then puzzling it all in as I go. I may have mentioned before that I don’t write in a linear fashion. Believe me, I’ve tried, but it doesn’t seem to work for me.

        I can also report that I have viciously (yes, viciously!) ripped out entire pages in this work, sometimes one paragraph at a time, but more recently, several pages all at once. Does that make me want to cry? Yes. Yes, it does. The words don't always come easy. Sometimes they are dragged kicking and screaming from my brain so deleting them is devastating.

        Still, I am happy with what I have so far. Reasonably so. I’m trying to incorporate everything my editor has taught me (hahahaha, yes, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks!). I have a list of words I’m trying to avoid. It’s a pretty long list and I never realized before how much I depend/use those words and that just makes it so much harder, but I’m willing to learn to make my stories better.

        And that’s about all for me. Wife Unexpected isn’t going to write itself so I should get back to it before the rest of the day takes over. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

New Lexi Post Series Contract Signed!

Time Matters Inc. series contract has been signed!

I'm thrilled to announced that Dragonblade Publishing has contracted my time travel agent series. This will be a 5 book series about women who have the ability to travel through time, each with a special ability.

The first two books, which were published, will be expanded and have new titles: Across Highland Time and Between a Pocket in Time, followed by 3 brand new stories - Come Viking Time, A Gladiator of Time, and Showdown for Time. The first book will be released next year.
 

Five women from the 21st Century, who have discovered their ability to travel through time, are recruited by Jules to be trained as agents for Time Matters, Inc.

Their mission? To go back in history and fix what the Disruptors have changed.

There are only 5 rules they must follow to insure the future. If they break any of them, they could change the world. But if they don’t…it will break their hearts.

For more information on each story just click: TIME MATTERS INC.

I'll be sure to let you know exact dates as I have them.

Always, 

Lexi 

It's Too Darn Hot

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        I have been hibernating—in my house, at the office, in my car—wherever I can find some coolness. It is way too hot for me right now in the Valley of the Sun. I’m sitting here listening to my air conditioner continue to hum and praying it lasts another year. 

        Apparently, we are under a heat dome and I don’t know when it’s going to let up. The thermometer I have in my carport (in the shade) has been regularly reaching 118 degrees and I can attest to the fact if feels like a blast furnace outside.

        I should be used to this after living here for over 40 years, but quite frankly, I am not.

        But there’s an upside. I’m saving money because I don’t want to go anywhere except to places I have to (like the office for the day job. I run all my errands on my home) so home it is, which gives me more time to write.

        Last week, though, was an unavoidable trip to the car dealership because my Brandy (that’s what I named my car) was acting kinda hinky. When I say hinky, I mean just plain strange. The radio was cutting out and the display screen was going black. This is a livable situation. I don’t really need music when I’m in my car although I do like to sing while I’m driving—usually loud and sometimes off key, but I don't care. The other thing that was happening when the radio cut out is that the air conditioning was cutting out, too. I know. Strange. And unacceptable.

        I refuse to live without air conditioning. (I'm old and cranky enough as it is. Can you imagine if I was old, cranky and hot!?!?!?) So off to the dealership I went. I go to the dealership because they treat me well and offer a few perks, like contracting with Uber so I can wait at home while they work on my car. Works for me.

        Anyway, about this trip home from the dealership after dropping off my car. My husband tells me that I have ‘that kind of face’. People tell me things…usually things I don’t want to know. They take one look at my face and open up like water spilling from a dam. Or a tidal wave.

        What do they talk about? Anything and everything.

        Such was the case last week. The Uber driver was a sweet young man who proceeded to tell me his entire life story. And what could I do? I was trapped in the car, tooling down the highway. I couldn’t go anywhere. And I certainly couldn’t tell him to stop talking (that’s not my way) so I let him talk. I’m not sure, but I think he needed to.

        And you know what? The incident (and this is not the first time this has happened—probably won’t be the last!) made me realize something about my current work in progress (Wife Unexpected). My heroine (Faith) seems to be a woman with ‘that kind of face’ because the hero is telling her things he hasn’t told another living soul. It’s freeing (and scary) for Tysen, but the big question is, can Faith accept who and what he was before they met? I think she can because deep down, he's a good man. And she’s falling in love with him even if she doesn’t realize it yet.

        And Brandy? She needed a new battery and a new fuse box, all covered under the extended warranty I purchased when I bought her. Yay!

        Anyway, that’s all for me. I’m going to hibernate a little more and get back to writing. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

        Marie

COVER REVEAL of Lexi Post's WATCHING THE EARL

 

COVER REVEAL

Watching the Earl (Courting a Curious Lady: Book 6) 

She’s ruined. He’s lost it all. A perfect match?

Lady Georgina is devastated. The lord who said he loved her, ruined her, then married another. Now her parents are desperate to keep her situation private by marrying her off to the first willing man no matter who he is. But even then, everything depends on her keeping her shame a secret…and she’s never kept a secret in her life.

Lord Philip Durham has lost it all on a sure bet. Desperate to save his father’s legacy and keep his situation hidden, he agrees to marry a woman with a large dowry. Discovering she’s also ruined only makes him more determined since it’s fitting penance for his past failings. Being forced to make a life with her, and thereby raising his family’s reputation, will satisfy both of his goals.

However, Lady Georgina appears to have goals of her own, including digging into his awkward family dynamics and returning to London for the remainder of the Season. As she becomes more confident, she seems to rise from the ashes of her old life like the mythical Phoenix. But can he avoid being burned or will her transformation bring him down in flames?

Releasing in September

Preorder coming soon. To be notified, be sure to Follow Lexi on:

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There's still time to catch up on the whole series!

Sunday Morning Musings

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        It’s Sunday morning as I sit down to write this. It’s a beautiful day. Not too hot yet (thank God for air conditioning…I tend to hibernate during the summers in Arizona) and there’s a lot I need to get accomplished. Sunday is my busy day, not like Saturday, where after my chores, I have a tendency to sit my butt on the couch and just veg. Granted, I do need that time to recuperate from the work week, but I hate the idea of being idle when there are so many things I could be—should be—doing.

        I’m not lazy. Not by a long shot. My house is cleaned and the laundry is done before I sit down. And I only do this on Saturdays (there’s too much to do and not enough time during the week).

        I have NetFlix, a constant draw for me and it’s both a good thing…and a bad thing. I particularly like the limited episode series. It’s so easy to get drawn in. You tell yourself you’ll only watch one episode then hours later, you realize you’ve watched the entire thing. I like the movies, too.

        That’s not to say I don’t do anything else during the time I’m vegging. I always have a pad of paper nearby so I can jot ideas, scenes, and bits of dialogue…somehow, just mindlessly watching a show frees up something in my head and the words I’m struggling with suddenly appear. 

        Which is a good thing because it seems like the writing is a hit or miss lately. I’m working on Wife Unexpected right now. I do have a deadline. It’s not for a while yet, but it seems like (feels like) I’m falling behind. I know, on one level, that I have plenty of time, but I can’t help feeling like I should be further along in the story.

        There are mornings (I write between 4:30 and 6:00 before the day job takes away every last brain cell in my head) when I’ll write 700 words then the next day, I’ll only get 200. What’s up with that? I have found though, when I’m having trouble in one scene, I will jump ahead and that seems to help (I am a puzzler).

        Ah, well, it is what it is. And being that this is Sunday, I should get moving! Lots of things to do today to get ready for the work week ahead…come on retirement! Only one year, five months, and twelve days to go before I can say goodbye to the day job! Whooo-hoooo!

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie