Brenda Rothert's Blog: Word Junkie

Hey guys, I'm kicking off a brand new hockey romance series this week with the release of The Donor. I loved researching this book with a trip to Colorado and writing these fun, quirky characters. If you read it, I'd love to hear what you think!

The Donor is free in Kindle Unlimited: https://amzn.to/3dTa5yS

I want your sperm.”

Those were Shelby Grant’s first words to me. Didn’t even want me to buy her a drink first. See, Shelby isn’t like other women. After researching Denver’s most eligible bachelors in search of her ideal sperm donor, she chose me.

As a pro hockey player, I’m used to women wanting things from me, but my swimmers? That’s a new one. Somehow, though, with her color-coded parenting plan, sales pitch and contract, Shelby sells me on the idea. After my donation, she doesn’t want anything more to do with me.

I can’t seem to stay away, though. As her belly grows and I get to know the tightly wound mom-to-be, I get attached.

Shelby’s jaded about men and I’m not looking to settle down. There are countless reasons why crossing the contractual line between us is a bad idea.

But once Shelby gives birth to our child, all bets are off. Whether I planned for it or not, I have a family now, and I’m not letting go without a fight.

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know this week I kicked off a brand-new hockey series, co-written with Kat Mizera. Hard Fall is the first book in the series, and the reviews so far have us DYING to start writing the second book in the series. I'd love for you to check out Hard Fall and let me know what you think!

xoxo - Brenda

Hey guys! The eighth book in my Chicago Blaze series, Kit, is HERE! Available at all major retailers, and you can also enter here to win a copy:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

Hey guys! I know this is an unprecedented start to summer, and I hope you're staying safe and healthy while still getting in some sun and fun. One upside of quarantine is that I've been reading a lot more. My current read is Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth, and I'm loving it.

On Tuesday I released Easy, the sixth book in my Chicago Blaze hockey romance series. This is a second chance romance set in Easy's hometown of Greentree Falls, WI. BUT! There's a visit to Greentree Falls by several other Blaze players, so you'll get to catch up with other players, too.

The next book in the Blaze series is Jonah, and it's one I know lots of readers are looking forward to. It releases Sept. 15, 2020.

If you want to check out Easy, find it here! <3

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SSMDEq
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2vci1Vv
B&N: https://bit.ly/2VjbG5m
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/easy-34
Google Play: https://bit.ly/3gm2rJz

A big thank you to all readers who write honest book reviews. No one wants to hurt feelings (well, no one I like anyway), and I respect those who choose not to review a book if they wouldn't have anything good to say about it. I don't always get five stars from my favorite bloggers and readers, but I love knowing that when I do, I earned it. As much as I wish every book that every author wrote could be successful, they can't. And when readers are paying their hard-earned money for a book, honest reviews are very important. Writing reviews isn't easy. I truly appreciate those of you who take the time to write truthful, thoughtful ones.

I'm changing my upcoming release dates, mostly due to my creative process. It was a difficult decision, because when I set deadlines I stick to them. But in this case, I set the deadline for Now and Forever before I knew I was going to write Captive. And now I find myself working on two books at once. Giving them each the attention they need will require more time. This switch will mean Captive comes out earlier than planned and Now and Forever comes out later than planned. I hope you Cole and Ben fans find them worth the extra wait. Captive's new release date is 1/27/14. Now and Forever will release 3/3/14. And I won't go out of my mind trying to hit deadlines I can't hit. I appreciate your understanding!

I just surprised myself when I created an entry for a sequel to Bound on Goodreads. What? Bound was always intended to be a standalone. And when I publish the next book, likely in Feb. or March, I will credit you guys – my amazing readers – for making it happen.

***If you don’t like spoilers and haven’t read Bound, you may not want to read on. *** For those of you who have read it, first of all, THANK YOU. It’s been my most rewarding book in so many ways. Initially, I didn’t plan on sharing that this book is deeply personal to me. Like Kate Camden, I lost a baby about halfway into the pregnancy. But in the first days of publication, when I started getting emails from women saying they’d been in tears while they read because they’d lost a baby, something made me write back to them – me, too. I’ve been there. I know how people who mean well can minimize the depth of a miscarriage or stillborn baby by either saying nothing or telling you that you can try again. From the time we find out we’re expecting them, every baby is already our baby in our hearts. And the loss of one is incredibly painful.

I’ve seen reviews from readers who said they were disappointed by Bound’s ending. They wanted more. The book’s ending was deliberate on my part. Some women choose to try again after the loss of a baby, and others don’t. It was very important to me to honor both choices. I wanted to show that it’s possible to heal and move forward either way.

But it turns out my readers knew better. I thought about this a lot, and spoke to The Three, my trusted writing advisors. Initially, two of them were like me – no second book. But then when I told them I’d been up at night because a storyline had taken hold in my head, they listened. (This is why I love them.) And then they agreed that yes, there was a full book there with a powerful message that would only add to Bound Book One.

The outlining process is nearly complete. I can hardly wait to begin writing this book. I’ve never been as nervous as I was when I hit publish on Bound. I wanted so badly for it to resonate with readers and be a voice for something that’s often not discussed openly. I know I’ll feel every bit as nervous about publishing the second book. But knowing that it’s what my readers overwhelmingly want gives me a confidence I didn’t have before.

We’re not done with Ryke and Kate yet. And if you think Book Two will be a shinier, happier story, well . . . I’ve cried while outlining it. I can promise you it will be real, it will make you feel and when you’re finished with it you’ll have the sense of completion a lot of you were missing at the end of Bound. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Finishing a book is always bittersweet. Just as readers get attached to characters, so do writers. My new release, Bound, is about two people who are tied together by a sad and unconventional thread. But their stories are real, and I think that's why I connected with them so much. Sometimes there can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm. Who said that, anyway? I know one of my characters did in a recent book but I can't remember which one due to the number of little boys running around near me as I write this. It's a mommy writer's life.
Bound releases Nov. 24. I hope Kate and Ryke will resonate with readers and give them hope for their own rainbows.

Sometimes being an indie author feels like being a single drop of water in the ocean. There’s so much competition out there as the market is flooded with new releases every day. How can an author make her work stand out in such a big crowd?
It’s a question I didn’t have the answer to when I published my first book in March. I experimented, trying free downloads of my book and several different paid promotions. But my sales weren’t impressive to say the least.
I kept writing, because like reading, writing is a bit of an addiction for me. I do it because I love it. And when I finished my second book, I tried the same things I’d tried with the first one. But something was different this time. A popular blogger agreed to read and review my book. Her acceptance gave me the courage to reach out to other bloggers. As positive reviews started being posted on Goodreads and Amazon, I started selling significantly more books.
With my third and fourth books, I’d learned my lesson. Ads don’t sell books. Readers do. There is nothing like the word of a trusted friend to make me pick up a book and give it a read. And I always end up liking the books my friends recommend.
I’ve finally started building a following of readers who love my books and are passionate about them. There is nothing I love quite as much as a message from a reader who has ideas for my next book or tells me how much she connected with my characters.
What I’m saying is that I literally couldn’t do this without you. To those of you who share, review and promote books for nothing more than the love of them, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm considering writing my next book in first person POV. Everything I've written so far has been in third. What do you guys prefer as readers? Does first person feel more intimate?
I'd love to hear your thoughts to help me with this decision.
Thanks!