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Tag: Historical Romance Novel

You Can’t Go Home Again

You Can’t Go Home Again

Published by stella on March 15, 2016

I wanna go home but it’s not there anymore.
The place I lived has been broken by the storm.
I dream in color, the beast at the front door.
I hold it shut, but he comes across the floor.
I can’t sleep, damn you.
I can’t eat, damn you.
And my nights go on forever.
I’ve wandered on and on, a stranger to myself.
And I should know by now
That I can’t go home again. No, I can’t go there again.

I wanna be whole, but am scattered by the wind
I should be strong by now but you have done me in.
My nights are laced with times that should’ve been.
My days go forth, I fight, but will I win?
I can’t work, damn you.
I can’t live, I hate you.
And my days go on forever.
I wander on and on, a stranger to myself.
And I should know by now
That you can’t be home again. No, I can’t be there again.

The cuts you made have healed a thousand times over.
The wounds still bleed perhaps now and forever.
But I still cry, damn you.
And you can’t die, damn you.
Because just one more time
I want you to want me
to come home again.

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Strong Heroines in Romances

Strong Heroines in Romances

Published by stella on March 14, 2016

 

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” ~Oprah Winfrey

 

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” ~ Groucho Marx

 

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

And yet we make bestsellers out of romances where the heroine is weak, submissive, and dominated. We may spend seven hours a week, reading, and dreaming in this mindset. WHY?

If you re-read the quotes above and think about it, you might ask yourself, ‘How does this manifest itself into my daily life?’ Am I sabotaging myself?

I believe the answer is a resounding ‘YES!’

I write about alpha males, because, lord help me, I love them. They make great characters.

I write in sex, too, because, to me, sex is a natural part of a relationship. It is not evil or bad.

My heroine is just as strong as the hero, in her own way. She has to work at finding a healthy relationship.

That part of my fiction is like real life.

I had a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, from childhood and yet have been shown ways to overcome. Part of why I write is that I want to share that with you.

I want to give back.

When you finish one of my books, my heart’s desire, is for you to be overflowing with hope, and promise, and ready to work for the happily-ever-after you so truly deserve.

Sending love always,

Stella

 

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Win a Free Kindle Fire 7

Win a Free Kindle Fire 7

Published by stella on February 28, 2016

Hi,

IN HONOR OF DARK VORTEX RELEASE DAY!!!

Here’s your chance to win a Kindle Fire 7!

or a $10 gift card

or a Signed/Magnet Card set

or a Signed Copy of ‘How To Train Your Knight’!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Writing is Therapy

Published by stella on February 21, 2016

I killed off my coworker, today.
Yup. I threw him out a porthole window, the ship’s propeller sucked him in and shot him out as shark bait.
God, what a catharsis. It was GREAT!
I laughed so hard.
My hero in the book said, “Oops.”
The heroine gave him a high-five.
Poor Mohammad, evil terrorist.
In real life, he’s just a pain-in-the-ass project manager and misogynist.
Writing is therapy.
Yup.
I think I’ll kill off another project member this week.
I shall write her as a real witch, who is working with a dark lord to destroy the world.
She’ll have to die a terrible death, don’t you think?
In real life? She made it a point to be abusive and condescending on a phone call.
In that she works for a multi-million dollar partner, I bit my tongue.
I wrote her into my next book, during that call.
Bwa ha haaaa.
If they only knew.
I write fiction.
It is my therapy.
It is my joy.
It is my escape.
A young man left the gym today and made it a point of removing his shirt for all to see.
Guess I’ll write in those biceps, and tattoos, as well.
And my fears, and my tears.
And my emotional issues.
And share myself with you.
You know me from my writing.

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NEW WORDPRESS THEME

NEW WORDPRESS THEME

Published by stella on January 27, 2016

OMG! I uploaded a new more mobile-friendly wordpress theme last night.

Then, of course, it crashed. Bad news.

Good news. I called my service provider, (netfirms), the increased the cache size, and Woo Hoo! Here we go.

Bad news? Time to go to work.

Good news? I’ll work on it tonight.

Bear with me while I maximize it! When I checked my stats, almost all my visits are via mobile. Doh.

Thanks, as always, you guys, for stopping by.  Can you leave a comment to see if that is working?

Thanks so much! oh yea… don’t forget to download my book and…

stop by later… I have this HUGE secret to share about my next book.

 

 

CLICK COVER TO ORDER

bestseller - Copy

bestseller - Copy

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How do I write a novel?

How do I write a novel?

Published by stella on January 26, 2016

IT’s 7:17 AM, and I’ve been up since 4:30, writing.

 

I usually get up at 5:30, but I’m working through the last chapter of my second draft and can’t sleep.  The urge to write is too great.
 
What do I mean about my drafts?
 
First, I think of a premise, a what if. For my last book it went something like this. What if there was a noble woman, who refused to be married, and shot arrows at her suitors?
 
Next, I meet the characters, and we talk. I get them to agree about the high-level plot.
 
(In this book, the heroine refused to be anything less than a queen. It took some doing to find a one, other than Edward’s wife. That is why we visit the Isle of Man.)
 
Then, I write down landing points that we all agree upon. This works better than an outline because, generally, my characters refuse to be corralled. I learned this in book one. Now I can prevent endless rewrites.
I talk to them about their goals, motivation, and conflict and I write these down so I can remind them if they get out of hand.
 
Only then, do I release them into their world. I follow them around  and write down what they say. When people ask if I get writer’s block, I laugh. How is that possible. I can barely keep up. Occasionally, if I get a moment. I jot  down a bit of scenery. This is the first draft.
The second draft, where I am now, I add everything else. Sights, sounds, angst, inner thoughts, and scenery. Google becomes my dearest  friend. This is where the real writing takes place.
 
I have targeted to start the third draft in Feb. I will edit my own work for the poetry of the words and hand off to my husband who will fix my grammar, spelling, and find holes in my plots.
Then, I will give my romance novel to a few honest Beta readers and consider their suggestions at length. Some changes will be made. Some not.
 
After this, I am ready to share my work with my publisher’s editor. At this point, it should be almost perfect.
 
She will make some suggestions. I usually agree with all and we send back and forth perhaps two or three  times.

 

Voila! A novel!

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News From Stella

Published by stella on January 15, 2016

Happy 2016!

Medieval Romances

I’m so excited to share all that is going on. First and foremost, I want to thank you all for stopping by my website. I hope it met your expectations!
I just got back from a visit north of Rome, where I stayed in a Medieval village. I ate our dinner of seven fishes a stone’s throw away from the topmost castle in Soriano.

soriano
There’s a hazelnut festival there, where they celebrate how an old woman saved the castle from an attack. In my mind’s eye, it was a young heroine, disguised as her grandmother. Of course the knight in charge refused to listen to her earlier warning. The steward of the castle was murdered…

Ah, but wait. I must first finish my third English Medieval Romance before I tell you about the next series. It should be ready early this summer. Lady Fay, a queen of the Isle of Man meets her match, a bastard step-brother to the famous Bruce.

Also, stay tuned. I may be pairing up with another author and delve into the paranormal.

And for my pitch? Anyone willing to post a review on Amazon, I will gift you a copy. Writers live and die by the number of their Amazon reviews. I must rely on you, my dear fans, to help me out. Without you, I will not be able to compete. Here are the links. All you need do is say what one thing you liked best.
Leave a review for ‘How To Train Your Knight’

https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?ie=UTF8&asin=B00WRNKOOU

Leave a review for ‘How To Marry Your Wife’ :

https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?ie=UTF8&asin=B017KPHKVO

 

If you have a blog, I have over 7K twitter followers. I would be happy to add you to a list!
My newest book has only nine reviews. It takes fifty to start to make a difference in sales! Thanks so much for your help! Send me an email or message me on Facebook. I promise to answer!
I cannot thank you enough! You guys are THE BEST!

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Midwest Review gives ‘How to Marry Your Wife’ a rating of ‘exquisite’

Published by stella on January 11, 2016

How to Marry Your Wife #4c copy

 $3.99 or available on Kindle Unlimited.
Soul Mate Publishing
by Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer
Fans of Alden’s prior book How to Train Your Knight might remember the protagonist Thomas in her latest How to Marry Your Wife, who was featured under main character Marcus in the first book.  Set in England in 1276, Templar Knight Sir Thomas D’Agostine has found the ideal woman with whom he will handfast; only a love potion hastens matters and changes their lives – and this is only the beginning.

Anticipate the same solid attention to medieval history and detailed sexual scenes as in How to Train Your Knight; only from a different perspective as a minor character assumes major proportions in this novel. Time moves swiftly using two different, alternating timelines identified by chapter headings, so readers need to be on their toes to absorb a satisfyingly fast-paced story line that revolves around romance.

But the marriage (when it happens) is a farce and is completed only because Thomas won’t have Merry bedding another man nor raising his son, and so love seems to vanish as the consequences of sex and love potions evolve. It’s not often that a brand new bride hates her husband before the marriage takes place, but Merry has been branded a harlot because of Thomas, and her hatred of him is just as intense as her reluctantly ongoing attraction.

The process of turning hate into love and rekindling more than the physical fires of passion is the theme of a rollicking good medieval read that infuses its protagonists with the lingo, culture and social mores of its times, yet includes a healthy dose of sexual description for spicy reading.

Romance readers with an affinity for early history will relish its passionate, powerful protagonists and their diametrically opposing personalities, and will find this saga of scoundrels, secrets, idiots and wise men (and women) is filled with satisfying medieval atmosphere and twists and turns of plot.

Under Alden’s hand, the sexual encounters reinforce and flavor events and the juxtaposition of battle scenes, romance, and the era’s political overtones is exquisite. There’s no need for either a prior familiarity with How to Train Your Knight or with medieval history and culture. As events unfold, Thomas and Merry are continually challenged both in their stormy relationships and in their stubborn natures which will ultimate lead to not just survival, but real love.

Without revealing spoilers, suffice it to say that the conclusion of How to Marry Your Wife leaves the door wide open for more – and readers who relish historical romances will welcome this possibility!

 

 

 

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Why write a Medieval Romance?

Why write a Medieval Romance?

Published by stella on January 11, 2016

StellaMarieAlden posts about her first Medieval Romance and how she dreamed up the idea.

People often ask me, where did the idea for your first romance come from? Why Medieval?

I wasn’t yet published but had attempted a contemporary romance as well as a paranormal. This was my third novel.

I’d just finished reading a regency-era romance novel. It was excellent except for the one thing that made me mad. Our hero, a duke, moaned and groaned throughout the whole book. His internal dialog was completely feminine in nature. That was it. I would write a hero, who never, ever, ever whined. He would be all macho male, yet have a deep soft spot for his wife.

I woke up the next morning, with an interesting ‘what if’. What if my hero was born before the concept of romantic love was so deeply ingrained into the culture. How would the couple talk about their feelings? What language would they use to convey their growing attraction? How far back in time would I need to go?

I decided to place my story in the high Medieval ages, before the plague. With just a little research, and having just returned from my first trip to Italy, I knew there was a mini-renaisance in Europe, just before the plague. And lastly, I wanted a relative time of peace. I chose, the late thirteenth century, in England.

What about the heroine? Honestly? She’s a lot like me; damaged from previous life events, yet never willing to be victim to her past. She’s an eternal optomist with a bright spirit and faith that cannot be put out. At times, I wish I could be more like her.

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