Resending: What was I thinking??


Please forgive the resend, dear Undines! I am trying to make sure this post is also available on my Kit hub, and the only way it looks like I can do this is to resend it. Carry on with your summer. –Riona

The fun/frustration of writing Alderwood Wedding

Hello Undines,

Before I tell you about what went on in my weird little skull while writing the Alderwood Wedding series, I want you to meet the person who helped me with the launch.

Daph @bookread.daph created graphics, spread the word, and in general took a lot off my plate when it came time to publish this little trilogy. Let me tell you, just because a book is short that doesn't mean publishing is much easier! I'm so grateful for Daph's help because making the process easier is exactly what she did. If you're a romance writer looking for a PA, I highly recommend checking out her services.

If you haven't already, you get can the first book of the series for free on Smashwords. The other two are also on sale for 99¢. There are a ton of books on sale or free there, so don't forget to browse around!

Check out the Smashwords sale

In other sale news, Crystalline is 99¢ on Smashwords and Amazon/ $1.99 everywhere else and Undercurrent is 99¢ on Amazon for July.

Get Crystalline

Get Undercurrent

Scroll down to find today's book deals and my real thoughts on writing Alderwood Wedding.

Thanks for being here, and happy reading!

Riona Beck

P.S. Welcome, new subscribers! Want to tell me what kind of romance you like to read? I wanna know:

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To learn more about today's book deals, simply click on the images or their titles.

Romance Summer Beach Books (sale)

Paranormal Soul Mates (sale)

Sizzling Summer Love (giveaway/reader magnet)

Before the Queen of Hearts (sale)

Keywords: Alice in Wonderland, friends to lovers, villain origin story

Betrayal never smelled so sweet . . .or hurt a queen so deeply.

Writing Alderwood Wedding

Night

reader rating: 2 peppers

Night (or, Night: an Arranged Marriage Short Romance, for the full title) is the origin story of the whole series. If you ever read a miscommunication trope and thought, “gee, I wish they’d resolved that easily because they really could have”, then you’ll appreciate this one. No unnecessary hang-ups, which I'm not a fan of. Carina and Trevelyon's story takes off pretty fast, if you know what I mean. I'm a sucker for characters, especially women, who find themselves in situations they didn't ask for which turn out to be better than they expected. It's the ultimate fantasy.

Chase

reader rating: 3 peppers

“Sensually playful” best describes Chase (or, Chase: a Magical One Night Fling Short Romance). Out of Alderwood Wedding’s three couples, Maline and Reg are the most teasing and flirtatious and were the easiest to write. Maline has had way more experience than Carina, and she's not afraid to have fun with it. I’m especially proud of the twist on shifter romance. I really wanted this one to offer a peek at Alderwood's living, breathing folklore, and I think I achieved that.

Spell

reader rating: 1 pepper

This one was the hardest to write! I'd never done a rivals to lovers story before. Esme and Leo started as enemies and though they evolved to a less-intense version, making their story believable in 7k words was a challenge. I revised Spell more times than the others combined until I was happy with it. I’m glad I followed my gut and decided to ignore the initial direction I thought the story was supposed to go. In fact, while I think that the pepper ratings are appropriate for each story, I find myself gravitating towards more 1 pepper writing in the future.

Do I have a favorite?

Dare you ask??? I cannot choose! I love Night for the shameless fantasy, Chase for the folkloric elements, and Spell for all the romantic tension. They each offer romance readers a delicious bite of something unique.

Chattanooga, TN
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