Showing posts with label African-American Christian Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African-American Christian Fiction. Show all posts

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Bucket List Item Long Overdue-Christmas Novella

People have strange items on their bucket lists. I'm not talking about the "travel the world" or the "skydive." I mean, "write a Christmas novella."
The Perfect Christmas Gift Cover
Yes. That was an item on my bucket list. And I can now check it off.

This item was added to my list a few years ago. If one would go back through the archives of this blog, they would see that for many years, I challenged myself to read a certain number of Christmas books in the month of December. I haven't done it in a number of years, but I still remember how much I enjoyed reading Christmas stories.

This year I decided that instead of reading Christmas books, I would publish one. I enjoyed writing The Perfect Christmas Gift as much as I like reading Christmas fiction. It provided a good challenge to write short. It also, I think, made me a better writer.

It took a number of years for my life to line up with this dream of mine and I think that is an important lesson. No matter how much we want or plan to do the things on our bucket lists, some of them will only fit in certain seasons in our lives. Some require a little patience.

As you look at your bucket list, know that if you haven't kicked the bucket, then you still have time.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Night of Romance Book Event, February 12th at Barnes & Noble, Alexandria VA

Join me and four other romance authors as we host a Night of Romance event. This event will be held February 12th at 7pm at 3651 Jefferson Davis Highway, Alexandria VA. The event will feature:

Lisa Dyson
Elizabeth Staab
Linda Budzinski
Megan Hart

We will talk about the life of a romance writer, our processes and we will read kiss scene from our books. You will also have an opportunity speed date our books.


To RSVP, click this link or call 703.299.9124. Hope to see you there!

Friday, September 18, 2015

Captured Preview

You've read the blurb. You've seen the trailer. Ready for a little more?



Here is a preview of Captured, releasing on Tuesday, September 22. Captured is available for pre-buy at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop


I've been tagged by Ronie Kendig. This was a good exercise to build some momentum for writing this story. 

The rules of the blog hop:
  • Mention who tagged you, and link to their post.
  • Give the rules.
  • Answer the ten questions below.
  • Link to several more people

1. What is the title of your next book? 
Tentatively, it’s Love Simplified, Too but I’m sure that’s bound to change.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
It is the sequel to my first novel, Love Simplified. For a while I was considering writing three standalone books in this series. When I mentioned this to my friend and editor, Linda Sothern, she complained that all the romance books end with the main characters engaged, but they never showed how the marriage worked out. That’s when I decided to write another book with the same cast of characters.   

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Romance.

Hrithik Roshan
4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Zoe Saldana
This is a hard one. I actually don’t like casting actors for my characters because everyone has their own image of what characters looks like. But if I had to say, Tempest would be played by Zoe Saladene and Lance would be played by a Bollywood actor named Hrithik Roshan. I’d love to hear from those who’ve read Love Simplified and get their opinion.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Love is not simple for Tempest Day, and she will soon discover that marriage is even harder.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I will be self-pubbing this one…unless some miracle happens and someone buys this one and the first one. I doubt it since I’m not querying it to agents or editors.  

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
 Haven’t finished the first draft yet and it’s been in the works for a couple of months now. I hope to finish it by April.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man or any book in the Amanda Bell Series.  I so admire Claudia Mair Burney’s voice. And readers can always pick up the first book in this series. 

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I’ll have to start with what inspired me to write the first book in this series, since the story continues in my next book.

Reality TV inspired me. Late one night, I was watching a show that featured a life coach helping people through their problems. As I watched, I thought, she [the life coach] probably has bigger problems than they people she’s trying to help. On another occasion, I was watching a different reality TV show and thought, What kind of crazy would you have to be to expose your private life on TV? What kind of person would do that? Most importantly, what would be a legitimate reason for going on a reality TV show? Those two sets of quests combined in my head and I was off and running.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
 It will be a hilarious After Happily Ever After story. I am aiming for a late spring release (May-June timeframe), so stay tuned to this blog and Facebook page (Author Terri J. Haynes) for updates. 

Now for the tagging: 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Writing Wednesday: How Love Simplified Came To Be


A reader recently asked me how I came up with the idea for Love Simplified. A good question except…I am not a linear person when it comes to my ideas. Sometimes a scene pops into my head and then I plot the novel around that scene. Other times, my ideas form in a more classic way, the writer’s best friend. The “what if…” question. However, Love Simplified didn’t start with a “what if…”, but it was a question in my mind. 

What kind of person goes on a reality TV show?

Now I must admit, I haven’t watched most of the popular reality TV shows, the Real Housewives or Survivor, or Idol, but I’ve watched a few. My favs are What Not to Wear, My Fair Wedding, The Locater (that show always makes me cry), and Ultimate Bake-Off.  I’ve watched an episode or two of other shows (watched Millionaire Matchmaker, research for Love Simplified), but I found myself wondering who would agree to a reality TV show and why would they do it. It seems so easy to be humiliated for life on these shows.

That wondering soon twisted into thinking about semi-legitimate reasons someone would do a reality TV show. After all, they’re not all bad. At the time I was watching a reality TV show about a life coach (can't remember the name of the show right now, but it was a late night TLC deal). One night as I watched, the idea flipped and I started pondering what would it be like if the so called expert was on the other side of the show. If the expert was the one getting advice and help. And thus, Tempest Day was born.

What would motivate you to do a reality TV show?