Raine Balkera - Romance Author

Quick Note: I want to address the following Bloggers: Taniya Deaton, Courtney Hunt, Leigh Anderson, Maureen Bonatch, Alina K. Field, and Natalia Prats. Last Week's Hop was messed up, I know, and this might have something to do with that, but when I clicked on your links, the following message appeared: I never know if it's a problem on my end, the internet in general, or an actual, real issue that needs resolving. Regardless, these types of warnings make me really nervous and scream VIRUS in my head, and as you can see, I had no other option but to click Back to Safety. I do apologize for not being able to see or read your content in order to comment and help your traffic numbers increase, and I do hope this week proves different for us all. Hello, again, and welcome back to the 2018 MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge. This is Week 9, and today's discussion topic is: What I Would Invent if I Were Stuck on an Island And, to your sur...

MFRW Author Blog Challenge - Week 3 Hi, everyone, and welcome to Week Three of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge for 2018. This week, our challenge is:  How Much of Myself is in My Writing? All of me, and none of me. Some of me? Bits and pieces of me. Well, this is sounding intelligent! Depending on the way you look at the challenge question, there are at least two ways you can answer, if not more. Firstly, I don't write in First-Person and struggle to enjoy First-Person, so if that is what is meant by ME, then no, I do not write as Myself in any of my works. Funny thing about First-Person narrative: whenever I 'do' read it, I auto-assume the author is doing just that... writing about herself, imagining herself in her head as the heroine she's creating for the story. If it is implied that ME means I write characters who are ME in real life, then the answer is no. It would never occur to me to do such a thin...

To help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully, and with purpose, Marketing for Romance Writers announces the 2018 Blog Challenge . Each week, authors use our writing prompt to create a meaningful blog post. We'll be posting every Friday... join us as often as possible. All authors with blogs are welcome to participate. Hello, everyone! Welcome to Week 2 of the MFRW Author Blog 2018 Blog Challenge . This week, our Challenge Question is: My Earliest Memory I've always liked the idea of being able to keep a little part of me a secret from not just the world but even my loved ones. Since I do have quite a few of them, I guess it would be okay to share a bit of myself for this post. My memories really begin when I entered Kindergarten, but for this post, I'm going to share my absolute earliest memory (even if it is a bit choppy). I did the math, and I was 4½ at the time because it was early summer and my next door neighbor's little brother turned ...

http://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/ Hello, everyone, and welcome to the 2018 Edition of MFRW Author Blog 52-Week Challenge. Our First Challenge is: Favorite Thing I've Written, and Why And right off the bat, we have another tough challenge to deal with today. Personally, I choose ALL THE THINGS I write as my Favorite . 😁 Which is why I write. Because writing is my Favorite thing to do. All of my ideas, my characters, their personality issues, and the road I've paved ahead for them are Favorites . My very Favorite of all is that my stories involve ROMANCE and LOVE. But, to be fair, I'll narrow them all down (published and non) to one story for this post. My Favorite 'Thing' and WHY it is my Favorite: Awhile back I wrote a Blog Post about this story, but here is an abridged version for this Challenge. This is a Fantasy Romance I'm still working on (rough draft) that refuses to leave me alone even though I'm currently working on the ...

Well, I've decided to do something silly this year as far as Reading goes. While browsing my extensive Kindle library the other night, it occurred to me that a few patterns emerged both Title and Content-wise. A running theme that caught my eye had to do with HIGHLANDERS and SCOTTISH HIGHLANDER ROMANCES. And no, I've neither read nor watched the Outlander series. That doesn't mean a few of my Highlander-themed novels won't be about time-travel, but all will be about Love and/or Romance to some extent. Because that's what I read and write about... Romance. While 2017 started out promising for me, and I had worked hard on my 3rd Romance novel (of the Contemporary variety), about a 1/4 of the way through (say around April or May) I stopped writing and starting reading in earnest. 2018 has to be different, and I want to switch that around to read this year I will WRITE far more than I read... even if I do read every night before bed. I just need to ...

Hello and welcome back for the final installment of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge . Well, we finally made it! It is Week 52, and our final challenge is: New Year's Resolutions For the past 20 or so years, I have made it a habit NOT to form any resolutions for a New Year. As fragile as my spirit has been, it serves me well to keep expectations at a bare to nil minimum, thus saving my soul from further damage and my psyche from further disillusionment. Instead, I've devised a more simple plan that involves me resolving to try harder, think clearer, and keep looking forward instead of back. When things go wrong, I've learned to let go and take a few deep breaths instead of becoming angry, sad, or in despair. I tell myself, "This is as good as it gets!" and submerge myself in all things fantasy to include binge-watching YouTube or Asian Dramas, reading my favorite novels, or just crawling back into bed until the doom/gloom feeling...

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another MFRW Author Blog 52-Week Challenge, and with this being Week 51, the challenge posed is: Advice to New Authors . I laughed when I saw this week's challenge because I define myself as being a New Author! Well, maybe not technically, but most definitely literally because while I've been 'writing' since the 5th grade, I am only recently ePub established. It takes me far, too long to accomplish what others simply decide to do, do it, and keep going like it's supposed to work that way. #1 I guess I am my own worst enemy (in that regard and a few others), so advice-wise, it might be best for aspiring authors to dig deep down into their soul and decide if this truly is their life-long passion, and if so, grab it with gusto, confidence, and a willingness to slog through a number of dry spells, rejection issues, and unfavorable critique. #2 Study, study, and study some more as well. Write What You Know does...

It amazes me how quickly time seems to fly, what with there being just THREE WEEKS left of 2017! And because of that, I'm participating in Week 50: My Biggest Accomplishments , even if I have no idea what to say. Like with a few other posts we've participated in, this question can be answered a few different ways. My children. My Survival Skills. Reaching obligatory or privileged milestones. But, since we're all writers here, I guess I'll say my biggest accomplishment would be my having the guts to publish my own work to the world. It is a huge accomplishment for me because even now, after several years have passed since that first novel went public, I am still very much afraid to promote it or send it off to popular book bloggers for fear of rejection and harsh criticism, BOTH of which would throw me off my game and cause me to not want to ever write again. Not having the confidence to write again scares me far more than hearing a lot of n...

Hello, all! Welcome back for Week 45 of the MFRW Author Blog 52-Week Blog Challenge , and today the topic is  An Unforgettable Day in My Life . I've been thinking about how to answer this one all week, and to be honest, I still don't know what to write. The problem is, I don't want to go the generic route and respond with the obvious: birth of child, wedding day, 18th birthday, etc. Except for the two live births, NONE of the obvious and generic responses were Unforgettable (not from a positive perspective, anyway). I am truly sorry to have to say that a MAJORITY of my generic memories, life moments, and what-not are on the negative, bad side. So, I do hope what I finally chose to share is worth your while and interesting enough to qualify as Unforgettable. August, 1981 I went to a friend's house, and while I waited for him to get ready (for what, I don't recall), he had turned on the TV, and I sat down to stare at it while I waited. What I...