Book 3 on it's way! Start the New Year with Montana Mail Order Brides Book 3

Since some of you have been wondering, I thought you'd like to know that Book 3 of the Montana Mail Order Brides series will be coming out by January 1!  Mark your calendars, and keep checking back, because it may go live sooner.  And as always, if you follow my blog and my twitter, you'll receive an announcement when the new book goes live.

I'm sorry it wasn't out on December 1st like I had planned--that's what happens when author optimism meets pre-Christmas chaos!  But I'm quite proud of getting out a full-length novel in only just over two months, during the holiday season!  :-)  Thank you for your patience.

Wondering what this one is about?  I've kept it under wraps, but here's a little teaser:

If her ambitious parents have their way, Elinor Travers will endure a life married to a dull man who believes that love is a mere fairy tale.  To make matters worse, she'll be losing her best friend Addie, who is leaving Massachusetts for the ultimate adventure--traveling to the Far West, as a mail order bride.  Addie's husband-to-be is a Montana hay farmer named Gideon, whose alfalfa farm with its little flock of sheep is exactly the idyllic setting which Elinor--not Addie--has always dreamed of.

Gideon Cartwright has spent the last few years working hard and raising his younger siblings following the deaths of his no-account father, then his heartbroken mother.  After years of putting his own desires aside for the welfare of his family, he can finally focus on his own dreams:  improving his farm, expanding his sheep flock, and finally having a loving wife to start a family with.

When both Addie and Elinor get cold feet, Addie suggests a radical change that may bring Elinor the life she's always dreamed of.  But will the behavior of Gideon's new wife remind him too much of the runaway father who abdicated all responsibility for his family?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all my dear readers, who have made this such a special year for me and my family!  I hope this Christmas finds you all well, and that you were able to spend it with loved ones, or doing something really special, or just getting to spend a little "you" time!

It's Here! Mail Order Promises Has Arrived!

It has finally arrived!  Mail Order Promises is live on Amazon!  It's also uploaded to all the other retailers, though it may be a day or so for it to be live at some retailers.

Everyone has been writing, asking about it, and now it's here!  I am SO thrilled with this book.  Even my husband is loving it, and he's a big, burly dude!  There's extra action, a sweet heroine with a dark secret, and a burly, handsome blacksmith that just wants an honest woman to love!

Aaaaaannnd here's the cover...

Ta daaaa!

I ended up holding back on the cover reveal, because even though I loved the cover, I felt the girl was all wrong for "Lilly".  And I was right--this girl looks almost exactly as I envisioned Lilly.  So after a little more fuss (a.k.a. five more hours of photo editing!) I love this version even more!  The picture of the other girl was wonderfully sweet, though, and will adorn a future cover--I already have a character in mind.

And here's a little teaser for you:


 

The unspeakable happened, and her family shunned her…

When her world is turned upside down, Lilly Watkins escapes to Montana to become a mail order bride.  She longs to find a peaceful, safe haven in the arms of the blacksmith Jake Morgan, and never again speak of the outrage committed against her.

Jake has lived a bitter and lonely life for years, afraid to trust his broken heart to another woman.  Now that he's ready to give love one last try, the only thing he wants is an honest woman he can trust—and lovely, sweet Lilly seems to be the perfect fit.  But someone is watching Lilly, and her secret isn't the only thing that could destroy them…

Dun, dun, dun!

Yep, there's a little bit of intrigue mixed in with your sweet historical romance this time around, along with more action, more bad guys, and more of your favorite characters from Mail Order Regrets!  I hope you love it as much as my husband does.

For those who anxiously awaited the arrival of Mail Order Promises, you'll be happy to know that I have already sketched out the plots of the next three novels, plus a related short story, and I hope to be able to release a new book every month from now on--barring any crazy, unforeseen circumstance.  :-D

Reader Survey: Too Prudish, or Not Prudish Enough?

I've received some reviews lately criticizing my book for being overloaded with "sexual behavior"...

[Insert stunned emoticon here.]

Sex?!  In my book?  Are we reading the same book?  Because if you've read Mail Order Regrets, you already know there is not a single bit of sex in my book.  None.  Nada.  Not even the wedding night.

Now, what is in my book are two kissing scenes.  One that is  mildly passionate (only kissing, nothing more) that takes place around mid-book, and one that is pretty darn chaste, toward the end.  Throughout the book there are light references to the hero and heroine feeling attraction (yes, sexual attraction--GASP) for each other.  Basically, mild sexual tension. 

I was really confused as to some of the descriptions that these reviewers claim are in my book.  I can only imagine that either they accidentally got my book mixed up in their heads with another book they recently read, or else they consider that feeling attraction to another person or kissing another person to be the equivalent of "sexual behavior".  I don't.  I think most people--even conservative people--don't, either.  But everyone is different, and to each his own, as they say.

To avoid future confusion, I've included a content warning in my book description, now, to help buyers make a more informed choice. 


So here's my question:  how do you feel about the content of the book?  Do you feel it's too prudish, just right, or not prudish enough?  I know that often, it's the loudest people that get heard (the reviewers who say things in the harshest possible way), so this is your chance to speak up and let me know how you feel... 

Just contact me by email, using the email address at the end of Mail Order Regrets, if you want to share your opinion.  That way, you can remain anonymous, and we won't have to worry about "comment wars" between readers here on the blog.  ;-)  Also, feel free to let me know what you'd like to see more of in the future.  I may not be able to respond to every email, if I get a lot at once, but I will definitely read them all. 

I can't make every reader happy--no author can--but I will always take my readers' opinions very seriously, and I appreciate the time readers take to leave me a comment, whether it's a one-star review or a five-star. 


UPDATE:  Some readers have written (and thanks so much for writing!) and asked when Mail Order Promises will be out.  I'm in edits now, and if all goes well, it should be out before the end of this month.  (I updated Mail Order Regrets by changing the notification at the end, saying it would be out by late November.  That was a mistake, it was supposed to say late October.  I've since changed it again.)  I can't wait to release this book--I'm really exited about it!  And you'll get a glimpse into Clay and Madeline's life from time to time throughout the series, as well as other characters.

"I See the 'Sweet', But Where's the Faith?"

A few readers have complained that Mail Order Regrets had no "moral" to it, or that there was no religious subtext to the book.  I figured other readers might be curious, wondering the same thing.

First, as I mention both in the book description and in the very beginning of the book, Mail Order Regrets is NOT an inspirational book.  I'd say a majority of my readers are Christians of some type (whether conservative or more liberal, I couldn't say--but I suspect it runs the gamut), so because of Amazon's algorithms, it frequently ends up in the "also bought" recommendations on the book "buy" pages for many inspirational authors, as well as ending up in the bestseller and Hot New Releases lists for inspirationals.  But that doesn't change the fact that it's not inspirational--it's just a plain old sweet romance, and I try to make that clear in my description, so readers can make a well-informed buying decision.

Unfortunately, some people don't read the whole blurb before buying.  Or the warning at the front of the book, which can be clearly seen in the "look inside" preview.  :-(   Oh well.  I try.

So as I said, there is no religion in the book.  There may be a passing mention of God or prayer--as it may pertain to a particular character's general belief system--but religion, God, and spirituality are not the focus nor the theme of the book.

Why?

1.  I don't want it to.  I want to write whatever comes to mind, without having to be restricted by the unwritten "rules" of inspirationals (i.e. no gambling, drinking, dancing, etc).  While I try not to portray excessive gambling or drinking in a positive light, I want the choice of having such things happen in the book, when it feels right for the situation.  My personal belief is that dancing isn't a sin, nor is a glass of wine or buying a raffle ticket.  I understand some people disagree, and that's fine--that's why I don't write inspirationals, so we can avoid the debate.  :-)

2.  There is a dearth of historical books that don't have sex and are not inspirational.  It seems the big thing nowadays is to either have erotic/spicy historical romance, or inspirational historical romance.  Not a lot of "in between."  So I'm here to fill the "in between."  I read inspirationals all the time, but sometimes you just want a plain ol' romance, without a "moral" to the story, you know?  No conversion, no momentous life decisions about religion--just regular old romance and life problems.  Just for a change of pace.  Also, there are a lot of readers who enjoy a "sweet" romance (no sex), but either they aren't Christian, or don't make their Christianity a large part of their life.  So my books are a good fit for anyone who wants a sweet romance, but doesn't want (or wants a break from, or doesn't require) Christian themes.  If you must have a religious theme, I recommend any Bethany House author...they are wonderful.

3.  I like being able to include descriptions of the full range of emotions/feelings that a person in my character's place would be feeling.  I like characters that are more realistic, so for me to pretend that people never felt attraction back in the "old days" just seems...hollow.  I mean, just because society tells you not to give in to certain feelings doesn't mean you don't feel them, right?  People may have controlled their behavior and emotions, but they still had them!

So I slip in just enough attraction/sexual tension to give a hint of realism, without it being "too much"...at least, not too much for the average reader, I think.  That way, you get a well-rounded view into what the character is actually experiencing--the rush of hormones, the flush of excitement you get when you meet someone new, the embarrassment of feeling things that society says you shouldn't feel, and how it feels to be around someone you admire and are falling in love with, and not be able to just kiss them whenever you darn well feel like it!

And that's why I don't write inspirational romance!  Even though I love reading it.   :-)

September Update

UPDATE to the update:  I had some major writer's block for a while, and it was sloooooow getting the first draft done.  :-(  But as soon as the edits are done, Mail Order Promises will be out--we're almost there! (I'd estimate October 17th...sometime before the end of October.  Edits were more complex this time around, but I'm almost done with them.  Really.  I promise!). The next four books are already plotted, and now that I've got things settled down at home and my writing routine down, my goal is to have one novel out per month, and also add a few related short stories as well.





Original Post:

Just wanted to let my readers know...the next book IS coming!


I'm sorry for the delay.  Wow!  It's been crazy-busy, and when I'm this tired, it's hard think, let alone write.  My deepest apologies. There was a lot of stuff this summer that needed my time and attention, and I do other writing as well, but I'm still working on Mail Order Promises, and it will be out this month, even if it kills me!

Now that things have slowed down, I plan to get all the books in the Montana Mail Order Brides series out much quicker--hopefully one each month.  If I wrote novellas, as seems to be the trend nowadays, I could pump them out quicker, but a 76,000 word novel, as Mail Order Regrets was, takes more time than a 40,000 word novella.  (Not that novellas are bad--they're great!  I just prefer longer stories and more complex plots, which my next book, Mail Order Promises, definitely has!)

I've also taken to heart a lot of the comments that readers have made in the reviews they've left, and I'm keeping them in mind while I put extra effort into this book.  My goal is to make each book better than the last, and if it takes extra time, it's worth it.  But as I said, now that my schedule is clear, I'll hopefully be able to continue that improved quality, while still putting out my books in a timely fashion. ;-)

In the meantime, thank you all so much for making Mail Order Regrets such a big success!  I couldn't have done it without you.  It has maintained front-page status in several genre bestseller lists on Amazon, including Romance/ Western, Romance/Historical, and Romance,/Inspirational (it's not an Inspirational, but because it's a "clean cut" romance, it's been a hit with the Inspirational readers).  It has also stayed in the top 1000 in the whole Kindle store almost the entire time since its release, spending most of its time hovering in the 500-600 range, and it has twice risen to the top 200s!

There are many more adventures for Madeline's brides in the near future, so stay tuned!

Want a teaser of the cover?  Here it is:

Okay, it's not much, but it's a hint, and you'll see the full cover reveal very soon!  :-D

Paperback is Out!

Okay, so I've been a very bad girl!  (Well, a very very busy girl, too.)  I did promise I'd have the paperback of Mail Order Regrets out last month, but there were some formatting issues that needed fixing first, and I never seemed to have the time to figure them out.  Of course, it turns out that all those problems were really just one problem, which I fixed.  I also had to redesign the cover to adjust for the formatting changes, but it's ready now!

Here's the link to buy it on Amazon.   It's not linked to the kindle version just yet, but it should be soon.  I wish I could have priced it lower, but Amazon/Createspace charges so much for printing, that I had to list it at that price to make the same amount as I make on the kindle version.  Sorry about that.  :-(   If it was up to me, it would be five bucks!  But then I'd owe Amazon around three buck per book every time one sold.  ;-) 

Want a sneak peek at the full paperback cover?  I knew you would! 

I can't wait to hold it in my hot little hands!!

If anyone wants to buy it on createspace, here's the link to that.   I don't expect many people will buy through createspace, since it doesn't appear to have the very slight discount Amazon gave it.  There's no benefit for anyone (except for me...I make a lot more, because Createspace pays a higher royalty than Amazon).  But it's there for you if you like buying on CS.  :-D

At the moment, you can't order it through a bookstore, because I think there's a fee I have to pay before Amazon will allow bookstores to order in the paperback.  I'm not sure if it's worth doing that, but I may do that in the future.  I assume most people will want to order it through Amazon, since it's cheaper.

Check it out!  Mail Order Regrets is available for only 99 cents for a limited time!

I plan to run this special for one day, but if it goes well, I may leave it up for a little longer, to make sure that everyone who wants to get it is able to.  Then the price will go back up to the usual $2.99.

You've all been so wonderful, helping to get me to the top 20 of the Historical Romance Hot New Releases, the top 20 of Western Romance Bestsellers, and all the way to #2 for a while on the Inspirational Romance lists (even though it's a sweet romance, not an inspirational--Amazon's algorithms are weird that way).  At one point, I even got to the mid-600s for the whole Kindle store!

I figured the least I could do to thank you is lower the price for a short while, so that any friends or relatives you may have recommended my book to are able to buy a copy more easily.

This is the perfect time to buy a bunch of gift copies, and give them to your friends!  I know from experience how hard it can be to find a nice, sweet romance, especially if you're not in the mood for a religious-themed story on that particular day.  Mail Order Regrets is "safe" enough that I would let my daughters read it, if they were teenagers already.  (I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger than 14, because while it is a sweet romance, there are mild allusions to the characters feeling sexual attraction.)

Thank you to all my readers, especially those kind enough to leave such wonderful reviews for me.  Every one of them is very special, and so very much appreciated!

I'm working hard on Mail Order Promises, Book 2 in the Montana Mail Order Brides series, and hope to have a sneak peek for you soon.  Sign up to follow this blog, or follow me on Twitter @JuliannaBlake77, to get updates on the cover reveal and the release date, which should be sometime this month!

New Edition Uploaded for Mail Order Regrets: Download Now! (and a "thank you")

There is a new version of Mail Order Regrets available to download on Amazon.  (The new version should be available on the other major retailers by May 25th.)

There were some corrections that needed to be made, most of which were small, but there was one major change that you might enjoy!

I won't give away details, but I will say that instead of just hearing about the character of Dalton Ashby, we actually get to meet him!  But don't worry, the ending of the book is the same. 

If you would like to download the new edition to your kindle, unfortunately with Amazon you can't just delete it and re-download it.  According to Amazon policy, you must contact Amazon and request that you be allowed to have the new edition--otherwise you'll just get the old version again.  I wish I could make it easier for you, but I can't.  They do it to make sure no one accidentally deletes their old version-which they wanted--and can't get it back.  [Edit:  Amazon has a new "automatic update" feature, which I assume means when an author loads a new version, you'll get the new version downloaded to your kindle.  However, I signed up for it, and I still have the old version on my kindle, so either I'm doing something wrong, or it doesn't work.]

For those who purchase from other retailers, you should be able to just delete it and re-download the newer version--but don't quote me on that!  Check with your retailer, because I'm not sure.

When  you download the new version, you'll know it's the right one if you look at the blurb, which should be the first thing when you open the document--the new edition says at the bottom of the blurb that the book is 76,344 words long.  If the word count is smaller, that's the old edition.  (Sometimes the kindle opens the book to page one, so you may have to backtrack to the beginning of the book.)

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you, my readers, soooo much for your support.  You have all been incredible!  I broke the 1,000 rank barrier yesterday--meaning Mail Order Regrets is one of the top 1,000 books sold in the entire Kindle store!  I've also made it to the "front" page of several genre bestseller lists and Hot New Releases genre lists.  I am thrilled and humbled that my book has found a place in so many people's hearts.  I couldn't have done it without all of you.

For those of you with friends or relatives who don't have e-readers, you'll be happy to know that the print version of Mail Order Regrets is coming very soon.  I'll make an announcement here on my blog when it is available to order through Amazon.  And I'm still working on Mail Order Promises, which I hope to have out very soon--stay tuned for the cover reveal!

Dressing (and Undressing!) the Historical Romance Heroine

Have you ever wondered what it would really be like to be a romance heroine, stealing off for moments alone with your hero?  The heavy breathing, the kisses, the touching?  It's enough to make a reader swoon!

Except...

Silk corset, circa 1891, from a collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

It probably didn't happen quite the way you think.  There probably wouldn't have been much petting on regions anywhere on the torso--and if there was, the heroine probably didn't feel much of it under a corset and multiple layers of clothing.  Don't believe me?  Check out this article on How to Undress a Victorian Lady in Your Next Historical Romance.

Author Deanne Gist gave a detailed demonstration at the RWA conference back in 2011, and a reporter was there to capture the experience.  The article goes into detail, with the addition of a video and a slideshow gallery, on how a lady of that era would dress, and the difficulty of doing so even with a lady's maid.

Gist also dispelled myths on various situations commonly used in romance novels for the hero and heroine to get intimate, such as a brief encounter in a carriage.  There would be no disrobing, as it would have been far too difficult and time-consuming just for the lady to undress, much less the hero.  More likely, it involved the tossing up of skirts--assuming she wasn't wearing a hobble skirt or similar slim-lined skirt.  (We'll leave out the details for my more modest readers--I do usually write sweet romances, after all!)

It was a very interesting and informative article, and I hope someday to be able to see Gist's lecture and demonstration in person.  I highly encourage anyone who is writing historical fiction to learn more about fashion, particularly when it comes to romantic scenes where articles of clothing may or may not be removed.

*wink*

Hello!  I'm historical romance author, Julianna Blake.  Welcome to my blog!

I am so excited to announce the publication of my novel, Mail Order Regrets, the first novel in the Montana Mail Order Brides series!

It is now live on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple/iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, and All Romance Ebooks. It will be delivered to Diesel, Sony, and other smaller retailers through Smashwords, which could take up to two weeks.

Traveling from Boston, mail order bride Madeline Barstow hopes that Samuel Croft will provide a comfortable, respectable life, far from the prying eyes of her gossiping socialite peers. But when she steps off the train in Helena, Montana, she is appalled to find a stranger waiting for her instead of her husband-to-be.

Widower Clay Porter is tired of everyone trying to match him up. He wants only to be left alone, spending his days off making deliveries and earning money to someday buy the butcher shop he works in. When he is hired to transport a woman to Croft Ranch, he realizes she is completely in the dark about her fiancé's character.  Is Clay willing to risk his own dreams—and even his life—to persuade Madeline that she's making a mistake?

Note:  Mail Order Regrets is a sweet historical romance novel of 75,739 words, but is not a Christian/inspirational romance.  

I hope you enjoy Mail Order Regrets, and the other upcoming books in the Montana Mail Order Bride series!  If you like it, I would be very grateful if you could spare the time to leave a good review for me.  Good reviews are helpful on any ebook retailer or book review website , but especially on Amazon, where good reviews can really boost sales.  Thank you so much, my wonderful readers!


~Julianna Blake