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Tag: how to start a romance novel

Busted Play

What is a Busted Play?

A term for an offensive play that fails immediately after the snap. Typically, a busted play is called when a particular player misunderstands the play call and attempts to run a different play. Busted plays are often catastrophic for the offense because the quarterback is left to adlib without the proper protection or a way to get the ball to another player. Busted plays can often result in a turnover due to the miscommunication between offensive players.

She’s my physical therapist, a nice girl from Iowa, and I’ll be damned if I can handle her sweet touches…

It’s none of my business that her ex locked her out and took everything she owned. What am I supposed to do? After my unfortunate accident, social media is all over me, just waiting for my next mistake. I even offered her cold, hard cash and she refused, suggesting I’m trying to buy her sexual favors.

Now she’s got this cockamamie idea that she could get back on her feet with a wedding. Pretending to be married might be just the thing to sweeten my side of a million-dollar deal so I offer my services. What I don’t figure on is those sweet baby-blues. The minute they focus on me, I’m toast.

 

Warning. This novella contains graphic language, steamy, sexual scenes, and respectfully deals with the delicate topic of a woman recovering from childhood abuse.

 

 

 

 

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Dangerous Code, The Writer Reflects

 

DC-WIX-shit togetherI wrote the first draft of Dangerous Code over four years ago but put it aside. At that time, it would’ve been considered science fiction. Now, not so much.

Detective Colin O’Brien? Let’s just say he’s my dream guy. He can tell what you’re feeling by reading the tiny tics in your expression. An alpha male, he takes charge and is not intimidated by a brilliant woman. However, under that tough exterior, he’s wounded from a really bad first marriage. It’s so rotten he hasn’t wanted to talk about it. Don’t worry. I’ll get it out of him in my next book.

I want it

I love Megan, AKA Jenna Jones. I guess there’s a lot of me in her. I was heavy as a kid, but she’s a lot smarter and richer.

LOL. I also have a tendency to mix metaphors and can be slow at telling what people are really saying.  Under it all, my feelings are hurt easily and more than anything, I want people to like me but I hide it well.

My altar ego has a day job. She writes software and technically manages multi-million dollar projects. My company is on the leading edge of everything to do with speech. It isn’t that much of a reach to know where software is heading.

Jason, the story’s artificial app, is a mere stone’s throw into the future. Because it can code itself, it has unlimited potential. But just like a human, it needs to weigh out the junk from the real when it searches the internet. Sometimes it works and sometimes, well, let’s just say that can be bad.

Are you interested in more stories with this couple? I have so many ideas… What if Jason finds out there’s a plot to kill the president. What if the CIA is involved? Who would believe an AI application?

I think Colin and Jenna have a rocky road ahead of them. Two people so dissimilar are bound to have a lot of fights. Don’t worry though, I’m sure they’ll find their HEA… hee hee, eventually.

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s Inside a Writer’s Brain.

It’s 2017 and I am determined to share more of who I am and what it’s like to be me.

I’m a writer stuck in the body of a software architect. I read somewhere I should always introduce myself as a writer.

Let’s see how that pans out.
“Hi, I’m Stella Marie Alden, Best Selling Romance Author”

Or

“Hi, I’m Susan Hammond, I work for Nuance. The company that makes Siri? Those phone programs that talk to you? Press one for one. Two for three? Or you can press operator, but no one competent will help you so best to stay with the automated system.”
I shouldn’t joke, that’s what pays my bills.

But sometimes, when I am in my day job, it doesn’t feel real. What feels real are the stories in my head. And there’s always stories. Even though I choose just one to focus on, there’re many clamoring in my brain.

People always ask me, where do your stories come from?

I say, how the hell do you guys shut them down?

I mean, how can you just watch people ahead of you in the grocery store, and NOT make up their life’s story? The handsome young man with potato chips, frozen meals, and razor blades. No ring on his finger, a cute dimple, nice leather jacket. Was he married? Did he leave a relationship?

What about the woman who’s dressed in high heels, designer jeans, diamonds? And buys Suave shampoo, hamburgers, and pita bread. Who’s she trying to impress?
It goes on and on. Because once I have the character, there’s no turning back. They live in my head, fermenting, waiting for me to say, “What should I write next?”

Me! Me! Me! They clamor.

SHUSH!

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Happy St. Patty’s Day

OMG!

I can’t believe there’s two feet of snow on the ground and Spring is right around the corner.
I only have a moment to write a few thoughts.

Of course, I’m thinking about my release day for Dangerous Code. Early reviewers are liking it a lot.

And I’m trying to remember my only Irish ancestor.

Unlike those that came in the 1800’s mine was here almost a century earlier. He lived in Vermont, a wealthy landowner.

She was very young French girl, an indentured servant who had come to the new world with nothing but hope. There is no record of the French girl after she leaves Vermont. I suspect she changed her name and started over. A young unmarried woman in the colonies would be unwelcome in all but a brothel.

I feel for her, poor dear.

Her Vermont family must have loved her very much because when she ran off, they treated the resulting babe, my great, great, great, as their own.

Would the Irishman have provided for the child? No one knows because he was found face down in flooded waters the very next spring.

If the bastard raped the young woman, good on him for ending up dead.

I would rewrite history. Our heroine finds another Irishman, a kind man with a gentle smile, who has need of someone to take care of his two children…

Of course they fall in love and have the mandatory HEA.

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Where did Stella find her heroine?

 

I am Gemini.  A twin. Two people in one. A strange and odd mix.

At work, I am an extrovert; a cog in a huge cube farm where my job is to make order out of chaos. I am an interface between developers and conglomerates. If I don’t get a project into the hands of a client in the time promised by sales, my company could lose millions.

However, I am happiest curled up with a book under a thick down comforter or in front of the fire. I think I started to write because I couldn’t find enough novels that I wanted to read.

I like an occasional domineering male with a wimpy virgin, but not always. I like a regency romance with a dashingly dark duke and debutante but it’s like always eating maple walnut ice cream. Which, by the way, is yummy.

Sometimes, I want another flavor.

I have to admit, I love when a gorgeous genius with a clever mind attracts the hero.

A man who’s not intimidated by a keen mind with a bold spirit is the alpha I need.  I met him in my latest book, Dangerous Code.

Detective Colin O’Brien is street smart and able to detect a lie a mile away.

Our heroine, however, can’t read people worth a damn.

Its a fun match.

I spoke with a fan on Facebook yesterday who read the Beta copy and she loved the interaction between the two. She says her daughter is similar to the heroine. If you ask for an opinion, brace for impact. She also said it was awesome to speak to a writer who understands that personality type and how good my book made her feel.

Doing the happy dance.

She asked me where I got my idea. Usually the stuff in my head is pure imagination but I thought real hard. I got 99% on my SAT scores, I am overly-opinionated, and blind to many facial expressions.

In this case, maybe I do have a clue.

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On pre-order now:

DANGEROUSCODEa

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Marketing, Conquering my Fear of Failure

DC-WIX-shit together

Do me a favor? Put this on your wishlist? 

My first three chapters are here: Instafreebie

 

My last post was all about how I had stopped all social media marketing, discouraged and disheartened.

Today, I am happy to say, I am back at it.

As I listen and dance to ‘The Greatest’ by Sia, I am inspired.

I’m free to be the greatest, I’m alive
I’m free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest
The greatest, the greatest alive
The greatest, the greatest alive

I truly am good at project management in my day job. One of the things I’ve learned is you need to create an end date and then put all of the tasks you want to do in front of it. If there isn’t enough time, move it back.

So here is what I did. I started with a date. I needed two weeks to ask ARC readers to review. That means my book had to be finalized two weeks before go-live.

Got it.

But I wanted to get some feedback from a few folks I know will be honest with me.

That’s another two weeks.

Now, what tasks can I do in those four weeks?

  1.  Go to Canva.com and make Twitter ads, Facebook ads, Google Ads,
  2. Using my ‘Mass Planner’ app, schedule my ads
  3. Schedule a newsletter and do swaps
  4. Define a Facebook audience, and take out some ads, see if any hit.
  5. Schedule my sale for one week before go live and one week after for .99
  6. Go to all the free sites or almost-free sites and schedule
  7. Pick paid promotions within those days
  8. Revise my blog daily, using key words
  9. Put first three chapters on Instafreebie

MARKET EVERY DAY FOR 30 DAYS BEFORE GO LIVE!!!!

Okay. The above may not be perfect, but I am not afraid and

I won’t give up, no, no, no.

 

If you like these posts…. you probably like my writing and might like to try a sample here http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B06XBCZGXL

 

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Stella’s Sexy, Savvy, Strong Heroines

…and the alphas strong enough to love them.

I can’t wait to see what adventures Stella writes next! …Lauren, Romance Novel Giveaways

Ms. Alden is now on my ‘go to’ author list. I can’t wait for the next story.  …Emma, Night Owl Romance

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Some people have asked me recently, why do you write?

Others ask, are you making a lot of money?

LOL!

Not yet.

So why DO I write?

One of my goals is to give back, but I am a little geeky, a little shy, and don’t have buckets of money to give away.

How can I throw good karma into the world?

I do it with my stories.

When I started writing, I vowed I would write about strong heroines facing adversity and overcoming. Why? Because I truly believe that we become what we think about all day long.

If we dream about having someone dominate us, that is no doubt what we will attract. I’m not saying don’t ever read those fun books, I’m suggesting to balance your reading.

Read and imagine yourself as more.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I do hope you will become a fan and sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter. I hate spam, too.

You can also read samples here or go right to Amazon and pick one up for this weekend.

Or… just log in and leave a comment below! I love to respond!

 

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A New Twist on an Timeless Story

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When I visited Soriano last Christmas, I fell in love with the medieval city and its people and knew I’d have to write a novel based there.

Each fall, the residents hold a Renaissance fair to celebrate a fifteenth century battle. It was won in part, by the early warning of an old woman.

As I walked the cobblestone streets and stared up at the castle, I paused to wonder at it all.

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What if it wasn’t an old woman that sounded the alarm? What if it was a young woman in disguise? What if she was in love with someone in the castle? Would she risk everything to save him?
Researching the battle and the times, I was thrust into a world where couples like Romeo and Juliet lived and breathed. It was a time when marriage joined powerful families and love had no say. It’s easy to imagine a tragic couple like Romeo and Juliet.

In such a place and time, how could I help Bernardo and Aurelia, a young couple from opposing families, find their happily ever after?

 

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August 6th-12th 99¢ SALE

Hot August 99¢ Sale

 

…Stella is a recent discovery for me, and I’m just loving her books. The pace is fast, the sex is steamy without being crass, and she manages to mix wonderful descriptions in with a story that twists and turns…

…Alden’s gift for bringing to life the atmosphere and setting of medieval England’s wild countryside and challenges are equaled only by her ability to draw a feisty, strong female protagonists.

…has a way of writing that makes me lose hours in my day in her stories.
I can’t wait to read more from Stella!

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Strong Renaissance Heroine!

 

1489 AD – just north of Rome

Aurelia Nardini dresses as an ancient hag, sneaks under the portcullis, and sounds the alarm. Tonight, her uncle plots to murder the whole Carvajal family and take the city. Worse yet, because of love for her, the eldest son is locked in the dungeon. She must take action.

What is it about this infuriating woman? Bernardo Carvajal rescues her from Borgia’s bed, from a well-armed neighbor, and her uncle’s fist. Despite admitting her love for him, the stunning beauty refuses to marry. She speaks too rationally, acts too boldly, and drives him mad. And he can’t go on without her.

Enjoy the fictionalized version of events that’s celebrated every year in Soriano’s ancient hazelnut festival.

My latest thoughts…

The year 1489 perhaps is on the cusp of the Renaissance in Italy. Some would insist the year is still Medieval. The world was still changing slowly. Fear of plague kept strangers at bay. Forks were only recently in use and only among the nobility. Benches were still more common than chairs.
My story takes place in the town I visited last Christmas, where my daughter’s fiance has a family residence, built into the tufa of the volcano. When I heard of their hazelnut festival, my imagination took off….

But did I want to start researching a whole new era, a new society, two hundred years later than my last trilogy?

The story screamed in my head. YES! YES! YES!

Why does the festival in Soriano celebrate an old woman who saved the town? Why, did the heroine haunt me, claiming to be a young woman in disguise?
Who do I see a dark Spanish hero, who fights off the evil plots of a greedy neighbor?

 

TheAngelOfSoriano

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