Elaine M DeGroot

May 9, 2024

 

May has brought flowers galore, severe thunderstorms, and the start of hurricane season.

 

In the Romance DeGrootified world, my assistant and I are busy writing and typing on our eighth romance currently entitled Green Eyes & Dimples. We have over 45 thousand words typed in with the handwritten pages increasing daily! I'm shooting to have it completed by the end of May and submitted to my publisher in hopes of a release before the 4th of July. A tight schedule!

 

What's happening with the plot of Green Eyes & Dimples? My characters took off on a picnic. Since I hadn't included the picnic scene in my handwritten pages, I wrote as I typed. Recently, I discovered a subplot I'd lost track of. I've made note of it and will include the action later on!

 

On top of that, I entered AutoCrit's Short Story Challenge. This one is different from the others. The word count is a minimum of 1,000 words and a maximum of 5,000 words. The theme is RACING. There are no twists. Thank goodness! We have the month of May to write our story, polish it, and submit it by the 31st of May. Their judges select 10 winners. They print a small book of all the winning stories and provide a copy to each winner.

 

I've been experimenting with Reels on the Romance DeGrootified Facebook page, and I'm hooked. I use photos and add music. The search for the right music is challenging and entertaining.  https://www.facebook.com/RomanceByDeGroot

 

I'm still riding the high from last month of the news Playground Antics won first place in the Romantic Suspense category of 1st Quarter 2024 Firebird Book Awards. It's truly invigorating and exhilarating to have my writing recognized in such a way!

 

We hope this finds you all well and excited about summer!

 

Read on!

 

Elaine & Missy