Lorna Faith

Clean Fiction Author

Thoughts on Finding Your Inspiration and Romance Book Ideas Coming Next…

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I’m excited(and nervous and scared too) to be on the home stretch with finishing this newest nonfiction book, Finish Your Book. I’ve noticed that it seems to take extra finishing energy as you wrap up a book. I share my thoughts on how to build finishing energy in this new blogpost at my website for writers here.

As I’m on the home stretch for this nonfiction book, my thoughts are beginning to turn back to writing fiction. If you also love reading and/or writing fiction stories like me, you’ll understand the passion that comes from a new story.

In this post, I thought I’d share some thoughts on finding your inspiration and me lately and book ideas I’m working on next.

Finding Your Inspiration

As readers and as writers, we find our inspiration from those things that catch our attention. Normally, there are so many things that catch our eye, that we can just shrug off the details or the ida.

But, sometimes we are compelled to stop and pay attention to new creative possibilities in an old thing or perhaps new ideas that we’ve never seen before. When we are compelled to STOP AND LOOK at an idea or possibility or when we are SUPER CURIOUS about an idea, I believe those are the inspiring ideas we should really pay attention to.

Those creative ideas that make us stop and take a second look, are telling us that this is what speaks to our souls. That sense of wonder and curiosity that bubbles up inside of us, is saying follow me here and I’ll lead you down a path of creativity and enjoyment that’s bigger than you imagined. 

I hope you’ve been stopped in your tracks in the past few months by new creative ideas and possibilities.

That’s happened to me recently.

I’ve written ideas down in my journal knowing I need to sit on them until I finish writing this nonfiction book for writers.

I’ve had ideas for the romance series that I started on awhile ago.

Romance Book Ideas coming next…

Besides writing the pen name(still secret for now) romance books, I’ve had a few idea changes to the Mulberry Island romance series.

I’m looking forward to finishing Return to Love(book 1), as Abby’s journey is so inspiring to me. It’s one of those compelling ideas that won’t let me go. I think it much of the pull to write this story, is that of the tragedy on her wedding day which sends her in tears home to the island – to a place she didn’t want to go.

It speaks to me about healing old wounds and finding restoration in what you thought was lost. That’s definitely Abby’s story.

I do have other ideas swirling around too. I was surprised by a phase of curiosity around writing Regency Romance too. Never thought I would want to write a regency, but the idea has a curiosity and wonder about it that won’t let me go. So at some point I want to write a series of Regency Romance novels.

Sometimes it’s surprising what shows up in your imagination. You wonder how that idea ever came into your head, but it’s there pulling you to write about it.

So that’s what I’ll do. I hope you follow your curiosity and wonder today too… you might be surprised at the joy you find on the other side! 😉

 

What ideas have inspired wonder and curiosity in you lately?  Please do share your thoughts in the comments, I would love to hear from you!

 

 

Why I Chose to Write a Romance Series Under a Pen Name

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I thought it was time I wrote about a little of what I’m up to and what I’m writing nowadays.

If you stop by my blog regularly, you’ll probably have noticed that lately I’ve only been posting once a month.

There’s a couple of reasons for that: 1)I decided to move my blogposts for writers over to createastoryyoulove.com, so I could focus this website on updates on fiction I’m currently writing. 2)I also decided to blog less often in general, so I could find more time to the write stories I’ve been aching to write. So if you haven’t seen a blogpost from me for awhile it’s because I’m doing more writing 😉

I am still writing stories with my real name – Lorna Faith – right now I’m focussed on finishing the nonfiction book to help writers titled, Finish Your Book. This book is scheduled for release September 30, 2018.

However, I’m still writing romance.  Today I thought I’d share why I decided to write a romance series under a pen name.

Why I created a secret pen name…

In the past year or so I had this compelling idea that I couldn’t shake: Wouldn’t it be fun to write romance in secret? What if I could write love stories without people knowing it’s me writing these books?

That’s where it started around a year or so ago. I couldn’t shake the idea, so I ended up choosing a pen name and even created an author website for my pen name.

So, back to the original question: why did I decide to create a secret pen name?

The first reason I created a secret pen name is because I wanted to try an experiment. I wanted to see what it would be like to write romance without anyone knowing these books were written by me. My thought process behind this was: I wondered if I would feel like I had more freedom to write, if I knew I was writing under a pen name?  So far, I have to say it feels pretty good.

The second reason I created a secret pen name is because I wanted to use it as a test to see if I could market these books differently and what would happen when I did. I wanted to design the book covers in a unique way, way different than with any of my other books.

Lastly, the third reason I’m writing with a secret pen name is because I wanted to have fun creating novels that are different than I usually write… and having that freedom to write what I want.

I have to say, it’s been such fun writing this way 😉

So you might be wondering about the romance series I’ve started under my own name, the Mulberry Island Romance series. Those are still in the works and I’m excited to write them. First, I want to finish writing this nonfiction book  and then I’ll be ready to finish the story of Abby and Jack in Return to Love(Book 1 in the series). You can see the book cover to the right, if you’re curious.

I’m writing more now and loving it and I’m looking forward to getting more books out there.

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please do take a minute to write a comment below… I’d love to hear from you 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Little Steps You Take Every Day Is What Builds Your Dreams…

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It’s always so encouraging when people tell me a blogpost or something I wrote inspired them. Usually(I’ve discovered), it’s because I’m willing to share what struggles I’ve gone through and lessons learned on how navigate and overcome obstacles on the writing journey. It’s wonderful when readers feel free to share their dreams and desires with me too.

For example, many first-time writers have shared with me their dreams like: I have struggled for many many years to finish my book and it’s been a journey on so many levels; I struggle to get past distractions and limiting beliefs to write my book; If only I could become a strong and better version of me, I’d be happier.

I get it. Our dreams can feel huge, scary and overwhelming and almost impossible. But, the best part is that you don’t have to do everything at once.

It doesn’t matter if you have sixty pounds to lose, train for a marathon, or a novel to write, you are going to get there one decision, one step and one keystroke at a time.

Here’s one of the big lessons I’ve been learning lately – as I continue to write my penname fairytale romance –  the little steps you take every day is what really builds your dreams.

You see, the little things you do each day ARE the most important things. It’s that first step toward your dreams. 

Lessons Learned from Taking One Step at a Time…

I didn’t become an author or entrepreneur overnight. It took me a really long time(years…), to write and and self-publish my first novel.

What started out first as a desire to write stories, began to grow into more. As I began to learn from other authors and creative entrepreneurs, my dream grew a little bit bigger and went through changes.

It all started with making a decision: I’m going to write the first page of my novel today. I’m going to learn about setting up my author website and growing an email list to connect with readers. I’m going to take another step toward that writing journey I’ve longed for.

What happens then, is you take another step and another. Before you know it, you’ve gone far beyond where you thought you’d ever be. It won’t be long before you discover that these changes all happened, because you decided to take that first small step.

Do you want to create more memories and special moments with your family? Choose to be fully present when they are home with you. Put away the iPad, computer or smartphone and watch your daughter’s favorite movie, play a video game with your son or bring out that deck of cards for a round of family fun(personally, I like playing DutchBlitz with my kids because I have a better chance to win at least one game 🙂 ). To your kids and/or partner nothing is more important than knowing you love them and that you enjoy spending time with them.

A good life is made up of all the little things you do each day.

I encourage you today to ask yourself ~ are you living the moments of each day the best that you can? This is something that I’m still learning to do everyday. I want to learn to catch and be aware of important moments each day and I hope that you’ll be inspired  to make that happen for you too.

The wonderful thing, is that each of us can start right now… today. Just decide that today your intention is to: write for fifteen minutes on your novel; or that you’ll start to eat one salad a day to begin losing weight; or that you’ll take that next step toward your goals.

Whatever your dream is, ask yourself what one small step you can take today to make the changes to make your life better?

Do it now… just start. Begin to take one small step(even if all you can spare is 10 minutes) and move toward your dreams.  Don’t let any excuse hold you back.

Remember, you’ll never get to the big things, if you don’t first find pleasure and reward in the little things.

It’s the small moments each day, that define your life. Do you like where each one is taking you?

 

What are small steps you can take today towards your goals and dreams?  Please do comment below, I’d love to hear more about you!

 

3 Reasons I have a Passion to Write Romance (and what I’m working on now)

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In the past few weeks, I’ve been digging deeper into the reasons why I write the books I do… namely romance 🙂

Just a note: Recently I switched the focus of this blog(www.lornafaith.com) to share inspiration, ideas and updates I’ve had for new fiction books I’m currently writing. I’ve moved my usual blogposts on writing, self-publishing and book marketing to my writing website at www.createastoryyoulove.com. If you’re a writer, you might find my newest blogpost helpful as I share what I’ve learned about Heinlein’s 5 Simple Rules for Writers.

I love writing fiction stories and lately I’ve been learning why I love to write romance. In some ways, maybe this was a need for a better understanding at what draws me to writing about all the weird and wonderful things about love.

If you love reading romance, you’ll have your own reasons why you adore picking up a new book and settling in for a good read.

Read on, to discover some of my inspirations for writing romance. Maybe you’ll find one or two of your inspirations for reading romance in that list…

3 Reasons I have a Passion to Write Romance

As I’ve been working on my cinderella romance for my pen name and as I’ve given more thought to my next sweet romance in the Mulberry Island Romance series, Return to Love, I’ve realized that I there are so many reasons I love to write about love. Some of them include: friendship, gratitude, serving each other, learning to forgive each other and the hope of a deepening love.

Any one of those themes are reasons why I pick up romance novels to read. I can’t help it… I adore happily ever after stories!

Listed below are 3 Big reasons why I’m Passionate to Write Romance…

1.Romance brings readers hope that a committed kind of love is still possible even when you have flaws and make mistakes.

As I mentioned above, when I write, I find myself continually drawn to happily ever after endings. Having been married and in love with my husband – and best friend – for a little over 30 years now, I really do believe in a love that lasts… even when each person has many flaws and makes a ton of mistakes. That theme of redemption, forgiveness and restoration is a big part of my passion for writing the stories I do.

Normally, I find myself writing about a very scarred but strong heroine with many flaws and a hero who is strong but also has his own set of fears and flaws to overcome.

Some examples from the sweet romance I’m currently writing…

For example, in Return to Love, my heroine Abby is an artist who returns to her family’s home on Mulberry Island, right after her husband dies suddenly in a freak accident… on her wedding day.

Abby has fears of abandonment and is afraid to loved again. Her mother died of cancer when Abby was three years old, and now her new husband is gone too. She feels anger, fear and loneliness and is afraid to give her heart to anyone again for fear that she’ll be hurt again. So she hides who she really is and keeps high walls around her heart….

Until she sees returns to her ancestral home on Mulberry Island… and sees the man who she loved years ago. The same man who broke her heart.

Jack, continues to persistently break down the barriers to love that Abby has placed around her heart and before the end of the book wins her over and they begin their happily ever after.

2. Romance is also about building a strong friendship.

Romance can’t survive only on physical attraction. There needs to be a heart connection and a strong emotional connection. At the core of this, is a heart level friendship. You enjoy being with this person. I love spending time with my hubby. Whether we’re driving to the hardware store, having coffee or just watching a home movie together, there’s always things to talk and laugh about. 

Also I’ve noticed that many times, people are attracted to each other based on strengths and weaknesses. We naturally attract certain people… maybe this has to do with our personality, I’m not sure. But a good friend is someone who knows all your strengths and weaknesses and accepts you anyway. They don’t demand that you change something about yourself. And they are there for you when you need someone to talk to and they are also considerate of you that they are not just constantly dumping all their negative on you.

This is what I love about writing romance stories. The couples I write about, many times begin their relationship by not liking each other at all. But they learn to be honest with each other, in a way that doesn’t put the other person down. They might not start out being kind to each other, but they learn how to understand, help and encourage the other person.

3. Romance is also about serving the one you love.

In many ways the society some of us live in(I’ve noticed this particularly in North America) has caused us to be a little self-absorbed. This can affect us when we enter a dating and/or marriage relationship and cause frustration if one or both people are focussed on “what can this person do for me?”  This is something I struggled with the most in our first few years of marriage.

It helps us in a romantic relationship – much like it helps our characters – to ask questions like: Why did we fall in love with this person? Is it to get something from them or is because you love them and think about them all the time and it makes you want to give what you can to them and serve them?

At the heart of romance, is doing what is best for the other person. Sometimes this means that you will sacrifice something for them. For example, a husband might sacrifice watching his favorite sports team on TV so he can do something helpful for his wife. Or maybe a wife will sacrifice reading a good book, so she can do the supper dishes or something to serve her husband. These little acts of service really add up over time in your marriage and builds a common respect and gratitude for each other.

In a romance, I love to put my hero in a situation where he has to give up something that’s super important to him, to do what is best for the heroine. And of course that works visa versa.

In writing a romance, I love to dive deep into both the heroine and hero’s flaws and wounds to find what is holding them back from giving and receiving love. Then I like to write a story where the couple is put in a situation where they’re forced to be with each other.

I really love writing romance tropes like: marriage of convenience; Cinderella trope; Beauty and the Beast type of trope; marriage bargain; arranged marriage; best friend; rags to riches, second chance, etc.  I love seeing couples that are in some way forced together begin to fall in love despite many flaws within themselves or obstacles that stand in their way in the form of antagonistic family, friends or external forces that oppose them.

In my current work in progress(Return to Love), the trope is a mixture of second chance romance and marrying your best friend. Also at the beginning of the story, Abby has a lot of unresolved anger(and a lack of trust) over what separated her and Jack’s budding romance in the first place. So it’s quite a fun story to write because of all the angst involved between the two of them 😉

Anyway, I hope some of those thoughts have reignited your passion on why you love to read romance.

 

What is your favorite romance trope from the ones shared above?  Please do share in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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