Can we agree that sometimes change is needed to create momentum? Can we agree
that sometimes creativity requires a jump start?
We've just begun 2017, but this time last year I was struggling⦠My muse and I
were on the outs and I couldn't write a scene without copious amounts of
caffeine, self-deprecation, and lots of second guessing. I found myself putting
off writing to do other things, month after month, and eventually, around June
2016, I gave up, putting my WIP aside to pursue a career as a publicist.
I quickly realized that helping other authors promote their books made me
jealous, but it also made me angry that I wasn't writing my own books. What
happened to me? I went from being passionate about creating worlds and
characters to bitter and dispassionate.
I hated myself. I hated that I was scared of writing. I hated that my muse had
abandoned me.
I sat down, cried, and decided to be honest with myself; my muse and I were
getting a divorce. Irreconcilable differences. She and I had different goals:
she wanted to write something other than sexy romance, and I was determined to
finish book three of a sexy series I started in 2014.
Here's a bit of history: I began my publishing career as Jackson D'Lynne,
writing paranormal time travel romance. The books were sexy, sometimes crude,
and rife with violence and morbid topics. My The Three Goddesses series got
some attention, but I still didn't feel that I was doing what I should
be doing. Writing what I should be writing.
I knew something needed to change.
In July, with some prodding from a great group of ladies in my Pioneer Hearts
Authors Facebook group, I sat down to write my very first sweet historical
western romance.
At first, I doubted that I could create something 'clean'. Fortunately, my
doubts were soon cast asideβthe words flew from my fingers! I wrote 35,000 words
in
three weeks. Three weeks! Suddenly, my muse was banging at the door,
begging to come back, and of course I let her in! She and I were finally
creating something we could both enjoy, something that made both of us happy.
Sweet romance isn't something I ever thought I could write. I enjoy reading sexy
books, and my two other books were sexy, so why couldn't I force my muse to
continue writing sexy books?
Part of the reason is I was ashamed of what I was writing. My head was in
charge, telling me I was writing books that more people wanted to read. That
sexy books would make me more money. But my heartβ¦where my faith livesβ¦was
telling me I was going against my grander plan.
What started out as an experiment, more or less, turned into a new beginning for
me. I created a new pen name, Lynn Winchester, and signed a publishing contract
with Dragonblade Publishing for the first three books in my new sweet historical
western series,
Dry Bayou
Brides.
Now, three books later, my muse and I are closer than ever. We're energized by
our new fans, our new community, and our new hopeβthat this genre is the one we
were supposed to be in all along.
Will I ever write as Jackson D'Lynne again? Yes, but it won't be as a romance
author, it will be as a suspense/thriller author. Why? Well, if you read my two
self-published books, you'd know I'm rather skilled at writing chilling bad guys
and villainous plots.
So, what are my plans now that I've made the conversion to sweet romance? I'm
going to write my heart out! I'm going to finish my nine book Dry Bayou Brides
series, and I'm going to start a new contemporary western seriesβall without the
sexy bits that drove my muse away in the first place. I am dedicated to writing
romance that my daughters and conservative mother-in-law can read.
But sex sells, right? At least that's what I keep hearing. Well, if I never sell
another book, I'm fine with that. At least I have my passion back.
Lynn Winchester is one of the pseudonyms of a hardworking California-born
caffeine addict, now living in the wilds of Northeast Pennsylvania. Lynn has
been writing fiction since the 5th grade, and enjoys creating worlds,
characters, and stories for her readers.
When Lynn isn't writing sweet
historical romances, she is writing spicy paranormal romance as Jackson DβLynne,
and YA Sci-Fi/Thrillers as DJ Sorber. When is isnβt writing at all, she is
running a successful editing business, reading whatever she can get her hands
on, raising her four children, making sure her husband is happy, and binge
watching shows on Netflix.
Dry Bayou Brides
#3
Second chances, love lessons, and horseshoes...
Leo Watkins is
an ill-tempered widower with a busy smithy to run and no desire to adhere to
silly niceties. He likes his life just the way it is and doesn't care what other
people think. But when his son convinces him it's time to remarry, Leo needs a
crash course in wooing a bride.
Missy Piers is a school teacher, a young widow, and the only woman in town fiery
enough to put a grumpy old blacksmith in his place. So when Leo asks her to help
him catch a wife, she's reluctant to do so.
Until she starts to fall for the awkwardly charming farrier.
Leo doesn't know what to do about the infuriating yet intoxicating widow. She's
bossy, uptight, andβ¦beautiful. And she makes him feel things he thought long buried.
Falling for Leo isn't in Missy's plans, he's stubborn and entirely too handsome.
So why does his presence make her weak and why does his touch make her yearn for
something more?
When these two opposing spirits are offered a second chance at what they've
lost, will they find love or will their hearts forever be lonely?
Inspirational
Historical |
Western | Romance
Western [Dragonblade, On Sale: January 3, 2017,
e-Book, / ]
Giveaway:
What is YOUR passion? one winner will get SIGNED copies of THE SHEPHERD'S DAUGHTER
& THE SEAMSTRESS
Dry Bayou Brides
My passion is Broadway and musical theater, as well as singing and performing. Also my family.
(Lisa DeWaard 3:34pm January 17, 2017)
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