#WriteTip - Try a Bit of Everything by @MerrynDexter, spotlighting her @DecadentPub #shifter #romance
/As a relative newbie author myself, I'm in total agreement with this advice from my pub-buddy Merryn Dexter. She's got a brand new release out for Decadent Publishing's smoking hot Black Hills Wolves series, a shared world lovingly curated by Rebecca Royce. More details on this yummy paranormal romance follows our brief writing tip break.
Try a Bit of Everything
by Merryn Dexter
As a relative new comer to this writing game, it's hard to know which advice to follow from the myriad resources available. My key tip would be to try a bit of everything. Try timed sprinting, try setting a daily schedule, find music that inspires you. Write by hand, write on your phone, write notes. Outlines, detailed plotting, chapter bullet points you want to hit. There are so many different ways to do this and not all will work for you, but some will.
The most important thing is to write about what you love and to keep writing. The more you practice, the better you will get. Writing a book is a learned skill, you will not be an expert for quite a long time. With a handful of contracts under my belt, I'm still wobbling along with my training wheels. But I'm better than I was six months ago, and I am excited to see where I will be in six months and a year from now.
A Mate’s Redeeming Touch
Black Hills Wolves
By Merryn Dexter
Ven Thorne is a lone wolf with a bad attitude caused by his difficult childhood. Forced to return to pack life, he is tasked with rebuilding the gas station on the outskirts of Los Lobos. Ven works for Ryker, the pack enforcer, and will act as sentinel and lookout when the station reopens.
Caitlyn Burrows has recently returned to Los Lobos with her family. A victim of Magnum Tao, the pack’s evil ex-Alpha, she is terrified of men and her natural omega nature is making it hard for her to make friends. Her family is determined to see Caitlyn happy.
A chance encounter between Ven and Caitlyn reveals they are mates, something that neither of them is happy about! He’s mean and angry; she’s timid and shy. Can two such opposites find common ground?
Caitlyn decides it is past time to take control of her life and is determined to prove to Ven that she is the mate that he needs. Can she make him see that the Fates are right and that their only chance of happiness is together or will the ghosts from the past keep them apart forever?
Excerpt
“I said, what do you want?” Ven sounded furious as he took a step towards her and Caitlyn shrank back, dropping the cooler as she raised her hands as though trying to ward him off. The box tipped over, spilling its contents across the scruffy lot and the man swore again. He stepped around the mess of food and drinks, advancing rapidly and she caught his scent, amber and dark wood beneath a layer of fresh sweat. Her wolf, normally so quiet, surged forward and she realized in terror that she was practically toe-to-toe with her mate. And he was mean and angry.
Knowing what it was to suffer at the hands of a cruel man, she turned tail and ran as fast as she could. She plunged towards the relatively safety of the trees, kicking off her shoes and dragging her clothes free as she fled.
Her wolf was whining at her to stop, but she pushed on into the heavy brush. Pausing to shed her jeans, she crouched, letting the shift take her over but making sure she retained enough control to force the wolf to keep running. The wolf howled, desperate to turn back, to catch again the glorious scent of her mate and offer her throat in submission to his dominant presence.
A heavy crash behind had her doubling her efforts and her paws scrabbled over the soft ground, seeking purchase as she ran as though the hounds of hell were on her heels. She risked a glance over her shoulder and an involuntary yip of fright loosed from her throat. An enormous gray wolf was gaining on her with every stride, the snarl on his face more terrifying than the scowl he’d worn in his human form.
She put on another burst of speed, her wolf suddenly in accordance that escape rather than submission was the best idea. Dodging around a massive pine tree, trunk broader than her back, she pulled up short at the remains of another fallen trunk that suddenly blocked her path. A snarl set her in motion again and her claws scratched at the bark as she desperately tried to clamber over the downed tree. The wood was soft, rotten in places and her front legs slid from under her as a huge set of jaws clamped around the thick fur at the back of her neck.
About Merryn Dexter
Merryn Dexter is a military spouse who, after a varied employment career (from selling sandals to old ladies with bunions to being a health and safety coordinator for a construction company), is thrilled to be pursuing her dream career as a romance writer. She likes The Winchesters, Spike, Hotch, Loki and watching complicated European Noir. Her hobbies include crying at books, crying at movies, crying at tv serials (there’s a theme!) and believes all stories should have a Happy Ending.
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