Christmas Decorating Traditions...by Kristin Wallace

Are your holiday decorations up yet? Are you one of those people who puts up a tree and lights right after Halloween? I don't know why, but just pulling everything out of the storage boxes is enough to warm your heart. Every piece evokes memories of your childhood or when your kids were little. They might make you think of your parents or grandparents. 

We all have traditional decorations that must be set out every year. I now have two places to decorate...my apartment and my parents' house. My parents have all the ornaments and decorations that I grew up with. We collect the Hallmark dated ornaments, which started waaaaay back in 1976. 

As you can imagine there are quite a lot of them at this point. There are also ornaments that my brother and I made, including a set of nativity characters. 

My apartment is a little more eclectic as it's a mix of my things and those of my roommate. 

 

Do you have special decorations that must be put up every year? Where did they come from and what do they remind you of? 

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of sweet contemporary and inspirational romance filled with Love, Laughter, and a Leap of Faith. She is the author of the three popular series, Covington Falls Chronicles, Shellwater Key Tales, and Palm Cove Tales. 

Looking for a great read that will put you in the holiday mood? Download the Christmas in Shellwater Key box set, on sale for only 99 cents. Enjoy three fun & festive holiday tales set in sunny Florida. 

A Halloween Decorating Idea by Kristin Wallace

I can’t believe it’s October already! In so many ways time seems to have stopped mid-March and yet the calendar keeps changing.  

I wanted to share something a little more lighthearted this month. It’s a Halloween decorating idea that is super cute and easy for even non-crafty people (which I definitely am) can do. 

 

Now I did not come up with this idea on my own. I was in Party City looking for decorations to put up in my apartment for my roommate’s birthday a couple weeks ago. Since the Halloween decorations were already out in full force, I looked around and came upon a display of clear round ornaments with tiny Halloween-themed lights inside them. 

 

At first I wanted to buy the ornaments, but of course, they were just for the display for the lights. Still, I loved the idea so much that I decided to make some for my apartment. 

 

I bought 8 sets of lights, including ones with tiny pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, and bats, as well as simple colored lights. I also bought a string of lights with pumpkins on them. Mine came from Party City, but I’m sure you can find similar lights at other stores. 

 

Then I bought clear plastic balls at Michaels. Again, you might have another craft store that sells something like that. Since Christmas décor is also already out they aren’t hard to find. 

 

NOTE: Make sure you get ornaments that come with two halves that you fit together. If you get the regular ornaments with only a small hole at the top the lights won’t fit. (I realized this after buying the wrong kind of ornaments.)

 

Then you put batteries in the lights, put them inside one half of an ornament, and snap the two halves together. Then you can hang them wherever you want. 

 

It turned out really nice. 

 

The best thing is, I can change out the lights inside the ornaments for different holidays. I’ll probably try fall colors for Thanksgiving and then red & green for Christmas. 

 

Do you have any cool Halloween decorating ideas? Please share them with me! 

 

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of sweet contemporary and inspirational romance filled with Love, Laughter, and a Leap of Faith. She is the author of three popular series, Covington Falls Chronicles, Shellwater Key Tales, and Palm Cove Tales. 

The Life of a Freelance Copywriter by Kristin Wallace

While many may know me as an author, I also have a “day job” as an advertising copywriter. That means I come up with the words for marketing materials, from TV commercials and radio spots to print ads, and brochures. I also do a lot of social media and blog writing. 

Right now I’m working as a freelance copywriter so that means “I” am the boss! Before my current role, I worked at an ad agency for 10 years.  

My job requires me to do a lot of research so I can develop ad copy and blogs. I’ve learned so much about different subjects. When I was at the ad agency we worked extensively with hospitals and health plans. As a result, I learned so much about healthcare topics. I can tell you about heart surgery procedures, heart disease, orthopedic surgery, cancer treatment, women’s health, diabetes, rehabilitation techniques, and on and on. 

As a freelancer, the subjects I write about are a lot more varied. I work with a company that produces blogs and web pages for car dealerships. I have learned a lot about different models and car systems/features. With some of my clients, I’m assigned a blog topic. With others, I’m able to choose from a list of available topics. In a single day, I can go from writing about the best fishing spots near Branson, MO to the gas mileage of a Jeep Wrangler. Look at these topics…

·      Phishing schemes

·      Sensory processing issues

·      Remote learning

·      How to pick the right college

·      STEM education and STEM jobs

·      Best roof materials for hot climates

·      Best wheelchairs for seniors

·      Best camping sites in Missouri

·      Lead Magnets

·      How long laptop batteries last

·      Wound care

·      Backyard landscaping ideas

·      South Carolina real estate

·      Best Nashville neighborhoods

·      3D scanners

·      Training your dog to become an AKC Trick Dog

·      Dental implants

·      Different kinds of valves

·      Chevy Suburban

·      Mazda CX-5

Obviously, I’m not an expert on valves or AKC training. I don’t truly understand “scientific” medical terms (that’s truly another language). But I do know "a little bit about a lot of things". 

My job is all about learning new things and that keeps it interesting. I couldn’t do it without the Internet, though. It makes my job possible. Google is definitely my best friend. 

What’s the most interesting thing about your job?

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of sweet contemporary and inspirational romance filled with Love, Laughter, and a Leap of Faith. She is the author of the three best selling series, Covington Falls Chronicles, Shellwater Key Tales, and Palm Cove Tales.

Bone Broth Soup: Easy, Healthy & Delicious...by Kristin Wallace

Eating healthy isn't always easy. (I don't succeed much of the time.) However, I did find a soup recipe that is really delicious and super healthy. It uses something called bone broth, and it's very easy to make. If you're trying to cleanse your system, lose some weight, or you're following the Keto diet, it's also good for that.

Easy Bone Broth Soup

Ingredients:

Chicken bone broth (you can make your own but I buy the boxed kind you can get in the soup aisle. I usually get Swanson brand)

Cauliflower rice (you can make your own using fresh cauliflower and a food processor or buy a frozen package)

Cup of diced carrots 

Can of peas (drained)

Can of Cannellini beans (drained)

1/2 cup of parsley

Teaspoon of thyme

Olive oil

Directions:

In a large pot, sautee the carrots and cauliflower rice with a little bit of olive oil. You can also add diced onion if you like it. Cook on medium-high heat for about 8 minutes or until the carrots get softer. 

Pour in the whole box of chicken bone broth

Add the peas, Cannellini beans, parsley & thyme. Stir and bring to a boil. 

Lower to a simmer. Cover the soup and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

You are DONE!

If you want more protein, you can add cooked chicken, either chunks or shredded. I use the prepared rotisserie chicken you can get from the deli section of the store. 

See...wasn't that easy? And it's so good! 

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational romance and women’s fiction filled with Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith. She is the author of the three best selling series, Shellwater Key Tales, Palm Cove Tales, and Covington Falls Chronicles. 

Christmas in July Bargain Reads by Kristin Wallace

Even though temps are in the 90s (at least where I live) we have this fun tradition of celebrating  Christmas In July. Hallmark Channel runs their Christmas movies. Stores have holiday specials. I thought I'd get in on the act by putting a couple of my Christmas-themed books on sale for $.99 cents. This month you can download the Christmas In Shellwater Key and Second Chance Christmas.


You can get them both for 99 cents on Amazon. HOWEVER, if you are an Amazon Prime member you can get them for free.


Christmas in Shellwater Key (Boxset) - Now on sale for .99 cents!
Shellwater Key Tales

This boxset contains 3 Shellwater Key Christmas novellas. The main stories in the series center around three childhood friends who revive the old Paradise Dinner Theatre. The holiday novellas venture beyond the theatre.

Finding You At Christmas

After years of looking out for everyone else, preacher’s daughter Janie Worthy is ready to get a life of her own. But on the way to her first date, her car decides to quit, and a stranger on a motorcycle becomes her savior. The short time she spends with Caleb Montgomery on the side of the road might be the most romantic interlude Janie can remember. Of course, it’s all a fantasy, and soon Caleb is riding off into the night.

Until he shows up again in Shellwater Key. When Caleb decides to stay in town for Christmas, Janie can’t help but wonder if she is the reason. Except people don’t fall in love in one night…Right?

Falling For You At Christmas

Pregnant and alone at Christmas, Cassie Stevens decides to take a holiday vacation in Shellwater Key before her baby girl is born. Then she discovers her reservation is lost and there is literally no room left at the inn. Thankfully, single inkeeper, Jared Lathem, offers to let Cassie stay with him and his young daughter. She won't have to sleep in a manger, but being in close poximity to the gorgeous Jared might be dangerous t her piece of mind...and heart.

But the magic of the season can change everything. Cassie is suddenly surrounded by a group of friends, who all seem to have names relating to another important birth long ago. And when Christmas Eve brings an unexpected delivery, Cassie will discover that miracles are still possible even in modern times. 

Loving You At Christmas

Annaliese Matheson once had a perfect life, with a successful career on Broadway and a loving husband. Then her husband died. Devastated, she left the stage behind and only returned when her best friend, Grayson Kendall, asked her to perform at The Paradise Dinner Theatre in tiny Shellwater Key, Florida.

Annaliese is convinced she’ll never love again, but when she steps in to direct to Middle School Christmas Show, nothing will ever be the same. A man unlike any she’s known awakens her buried heart, giving her a second chance at forever with the last person she would have expected. It will take a miracle for Annaliese to let someone else in and embrace happiness again...but then it is Christmas.

BUY NOW ON AMAZON

Second Chance Christmas - Now on sale for .99 cents!

Palm Cove Tales

This book is part of my Palm Cove Tales series. It’s the follow-up to the Heiress Games trilogy. It features desperate single mom, Mia Reynolds, the cousin of security expert Damon Grant (who appeared in the Heiress Games books).

Ten years ago, Mia Reynolds and Winthrop Barrington spent one magical Christmas together. Until lies and manipulation at the hands of Win’s wealthy family tore them apart and left Mia to raise a daughter on her own. Now, both of them have returned to their hometown of Palm Cove, Florida. Once they uncover the truth, can Mia and Win rediscover the love they lost and celebrate a Second Chance Christmas with their daughter?

BUY NOW ON AMAZON

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. 

The Writer's New Year's Resolution by Kristin Wallace

While most people make New Year’s Resolutions, authors tend to make Writer’s Resolutions. At least I do. Every year I have grand plans to write X number of books. Unfortunately, I have to confess that 2019 was not a good year for me as an author. I had plans, but most of them didn’t happen. A lot was due to having to meet deadlines for my “day job” freelance writing gig, often working 7 days a week to get things turned in on time. 

The other reason had to do with some weird health issues that messed with my ability to focus, which as you can imagine, makes creative writing extremely difficult. In many ways, the voices that I've always had in my head basically went “silent”. In the end, I only managed to publish one book, SECOND CHANCE HERO, which is part of the Palm Cove Tales series. 

AMAZON  /  APPLE BOOKS  /  B&N   /   KOBO 

BUT…I am truly hoping to get back on track for 2020. I do have plans and plenty of ongoing projects to keep me busy.

One is the reissue my inspirational series, COVINGTON FALLS CHRONICLE. I got the right back from the original publisher some time ago and created new covers. I’m just doing light editing. I also hope to continue with that series. There are so many characters begging for stories in my quirky Southern town. 

I am also working on a fun new series called THE LOST ROYALS about separated siblings who find out they are royalty. 

Finally, there is a joint project/series that I plan to publish with one of my author friends. It’s a modern-day take on Cinderella featuring a pair of magic shoes and a cursed Stepmother who might not be as bad as everyone thought. 

So those are my plans…now to get writing! 

I did put together a Christmas box set with three of my Shellwater Key holiday tales (Finding You At Christmas, Falling For You At Christmas, and Loving You At Christmas). Christmas in Shellwater Key is available on Kindle Unlimited so even though it's January, go ahead and scoop it up now. 

BUY NOW ON AMAZON

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. The Christmas in Shellwater Key boxes et will release this winter. 

Do you see how I write book blurbs…by Kristin Wallace

The theme this month on RTG is "Do you see how I..." with a focus on something related to the craft of writing. I chose a topic that leads to cold sweats and terror in many authors...

If you polled authors asking what one thing they hated most about the publishing business, I bet a majority would say…writing the blurb for my book. Blurb writing is one of those things that many authors dread. The thought of trying to take their 80,000-word novel and tell the story in a paragraph or two is terrifying.

That would not be me. I may be the one author on the face of the planet who LOVES writing them. 

To understand the joy of blurbs, you have to know that I am an advertising copywriter. The majority of my job is literally taking large, complicated subjects and breaking them down into a headline and a paragraph of copy to “sell” a product or service. Well, a book is another “product” authors are trying to sell. Once I figured that out, I understood writing blurbs. 

So how do I write them? I came up with a workshop called, “Blurb Writing Doesn’t Have to Suck”. I presented it at RWA Nationals a couple years ago and I’m doing it again at my local writer’s chapter (Florida Romance Writers) in October. 

Here’s a breakdown of what I teach. And hey…if you can get to Fort Lauderdale on October 12 you can come to the workshop!!!

Why blurbs matters

A blurb is one of your most important selling tools for your book, whether you’re going the traditional or indie route. If you're targeting agents/editors you'll need a blurb for your query letters. Indie authors need a great blurb for their sales pages. Once you have a long version of your blurb, you can adapt it for ads (Facebook, Amazon, BookBub), social media posts, your author newsletter, and printed marketing materials like bookmarks or postcards.

The flavor of a blurb

First, ensure the blurb reflects the tone of your book as well as your author brand. (If you don’t know your author brand or haven’t created one yet that’s a whole other workshop, which I’ve also presented.) 

If you write dark, your blurb must show that. If your books have humor, reflect that. It also needs to showcase the genre of your book, whether it's contemporary, historical, paranormal or YA. Erotic romance will have a completely different tone versus an inspirational romance. 

Elements of a Blurb

1. The Introduction

·      First, introduce your heroine & hero. You want to let the reader know *who* they are. 

·      What is their occupation? This can reveal a lot about them. How would you describe a Navy Seal vs. a college professor? A chef vs. an athlete? 

·      Your language should reflect their personalities. If your heroine is snarky and bold, your description should show that. 

2. Plugging in your GMC

The key to writing your blurb is to remember your GMC. Of course, GMC is vital to develop when you're plotting your book, but those same elements can be applied to your blurb. 

Hopefully, you are already familiar with GMC (Goal, Motivation & Conflict). 

·      Goal - WHAT does your heroine/hero want? 

o  If your blurb has a paragraph for both characters than you will need to do this twice.

·      Motivation - WHYdo they want it?

·      Conflict - WHATis standing in their way? 

So now plugin the goal, motivation, and conflict for both your Heroine & Hero.  

REMEMBER: Be mindful of your genre and tone of your book. Enhance GMC with words that reflect this. If your heroine is a chef, pepper in words or phrases that reflect this world (cooking, things come to a boil, heating up in the kitchen, a recipe for disaster, etc.)

3. Romantic Tension

After you have introduced your main characters and GMC for both, it’s time to focus on the romance.

Introduce the main romantic conflict

o  What is going to keep your characters apart for the entire book? Are they from rival businesses? He’s a wealthy Duke and she’s a penniless commoner? 

o  Do they succumb to the attraction? (If this is a spicy or erotic, chances are the answer is yes.) 

o  What is the result of their romantic interlude? Does it set up even more conflict or change the direction of the story?

o  Again, be mindful of your genre and tone. If you write “sweet” the words used to describe the romance will be different than ones you’d use for spicy or erotic. Same for a historical vs. contemporary vs. paranormal

4. A Big Reveal and the Dark Moment

Expose (or at least tease) at a secret or important information that will be revealed. Your story NEEDS this in order to drive the action and lead up to your Dark Moment and Climax. 

·      Give a hint about what the secret and dark moment will be. 

·      You don’t have to reveal every detail of the secret, but give enough of a clue that the reader wants to find out. 

·      How will this drive your heroine/hero apart (maybe forever)? Can they make it in the end?

5. Hook ‘em at the end

Now, you need to craft a closing line that entices the reader to want more. 

·      Write a cliffhanger or question… “Can she let go of her bitterness in order to claim a lasting love?” “Can they save the world in time?”

·      Restate the ultimate GOAL in a more dramatic way. Give them a “dun, dun, dun” moment. “Together, they must steal the ancient artifact…and if they fail the world will never be the same.” 

Okay…sounds easy, right? Actually, it’s not, but you can develop the skill with practice. These 5 tips will help.

If you’re an author struggling with blurb writing I can help. 

Kristin Wallaceis the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. Her latest book, SECOND CHANCE HERO, is available now. 

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