Historical Romance: Stories of Rebels,
Adventure, and Mystery
 
My favorite time period is historical because it’s during a time when men defended a lady’s honor and treated women with respect. The women, on the other hand, were not frail by any means. I love strong women characters who fight for what they believe. I love to write stories with a mixture of romance and adventure. My favorite loves stories are about a man and woman who know they are meant for one another, even though there are trials along the way.
 
The Rebel Series is a Historical Mystery/Adventure Romance set in the 1700s. Many people have asked me why I wrote a story about rebels. Simple! I love a rogue who fights for justice and for the people. It was a bunch of rebels who fought for their freedom in America. They wanted to be free from the dictatorship of a king. How about Robin Hood? He and a bunch of men did the same thing as they helped the needy and poor. Liberty is something that I cherish. So I decided to write about a small country that struggles to be free.
 
THE REBELS OF CORDOVIA: “This creative take on a Robin Hood-like story is charming and touching, and teaches some great morals about agency and choice. It reminded me of childhood fairytales of good versus evil, with a nice romance weaved into it.” --Author Charissa Stastny
 
In The Rebels of Cordovia, Robin’s Rebels realize they must fight against the tyranny of a wicked king and help the people survive the oppression. In this battle for freedom, a tender love story begins to blossom. Daniel, a rogue and a leader of the Freemen, doesn’t realize that the sweet feminine woman he has met and is falling for happens to be the leader of Robin’s Rebels. Realizing the importance of uniting all the rebel groups, Daniel tries to recruit Robin’s Rebels but they refuse. Now he has to find a way to convince them. When he finds out the leader is actually a woman, what will his reaction be?
 
To watch a Book Trailer for The Rebels of Cordovia, click on the link below:
https://youtu.be/-Nd2vqNYqSA
 
THE HIGHWAYMAN OF CORDOVIA: “Austin and Christine had been friends, as youth, and separated through the years. As their paths cross again after many years, things spark up between them. Yet their lives do not appear to be headed in the same direction. The twists and turns will keep you turning the pages.” --Sunnie Reivews
 
In book 2, The Highwayman of Cordovia, the people enjoy their new-found liberty, but all is not well. A group of powerful men plan to take over the small country and replace the leader with a king. With the help of a bold highwayman and a pastor’s daughter, they try to save their country from being taken over by a power-hungry leader. As they strive to stop the Kingmen and thwart their plans, Christine finds herself falling in love with Austin Knight. The only problem with their relationship is that she thinks he is her knight in shining armor instead of a highwayman. If she finds out his trade, what will her reaction be? As a pastor’s daughter, will love override her values?
 
To watch a Book Trailer for The Highwayman of Cordovia, click on the link below:
https://youtu.be/UtHY-DPjfFE
 
THE FOX OF CORDOVIA: “I loved this book. It is full of adventure, drama, intrigue and suspense. We've got kidnapping plots, pirate ships, daring rescues and romance. The author weaves an exciting tale and a sweet romance together in a way that will appeal to all readers.” --Inishowen Cailín
 
In book 3, The Fox of Cordovia, a sinister plot has just been uncovered and its up to a former patriot and a young nurse to discover who is behind it. Caroline is engaged to the future mayor of Laketown, a man of influence and greatly respected. But all that changes when she overhears a conspiracy behind closed doors. After being discovered, she runs for her life. Caroline needs to report her findings, but whom can she trust? When she asks Jesse Conover for help, the adventure begins.
 
To watch a Book Trailer for The Fox of Cordovia, click on the link below:
https://youtu.be/mCgwRF5nzQ8
 
I love research. When I did some research about the “waltz” for The Highwayman of Cordovia, I was surprised at what I found. The peasants were the first to dance the waltz. It was such fun that bored noblemen would sneak out and go to the country-dances. The Oxford English Dictionary back then called the waltz “riotous and indecent.”
 
In a 1771 German novel, someone complains about the “newly-introduced waltz” among the aristocrats. He wrote: “When he put his arm around her, pressed her to his breast, cavorted with her in the shameless, indecent whirling-dance of the Germans and engaged in a familiarity that broke all the bounds of good breeding—then my silent misery turned into burning rage.” I was so intrigued by this description. The waltz finally became fashionable when the wife of a Russian ambassador endorsed it.
 
To read a sample chapter from each of my books in The Rebel Series, go to http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/historicalromance.html and click on the TITLE.
To purchase a book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Audible Audiobooks, go to http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com/purchasebook.html.
 
About Author: Linda Weaver Clarke was raised among the Rocky Mountains of southern Idaho and now lives among the red mountains of southern Utah. Linda is the mother of six daughters and the author of 23 books. She has written in several different genres, which include: historical romances, romantic cozy mysteries, a mystery suspense series, a children’s book, and non-fiction. All her books are family friendly. She has also traveled throughout the U.S. and taught audiences how to write their family history, giving more than 500 workshops.

I have so much to tell you, I'm not even sure where to start! So I guess I'll just start! :)

THANK YOU!
First of all, thank you to those of you who have come out to book signings and to those I met at Penned Con in St. Louis this year. I've had a lot of fun traveling around and doing those. There's a few more left and I might add one or two more before the end of the year. The schedule is on the front page of my website. And pictures from the signings I've been doing are on the contact page HERE in case you want to see any! Just scroll down to the bottom and there's a slide show.

NEW KIDS BOOK...BY MY DAUGHTER!
My oldest, Kaelyn (age 8) has had an idea about a duck learning how to speak human. One weekend this summer we were camping and she disappeared into her bed to actually finally put the story down on paper. She wrote and wrote and wrote and then for the rest of the weekend, she read the story to anyone who would listen. I wanted to encourage that so now, I present to you, "Duck's Hard Year of Trying!" You can get it on kindle if you read to your kids that way. We have paperbacks ordered as well. You can order them through amazon or let me know if you want one and we can mail it to you (signed by the author herself!) We can work out a paypal payment or whatever works! She's very proud of her work and excited that it's a real book now! And I'm proud of her as well!!!

NEW CHRISTMAS STORY
I'm putting out another short Christmas story on November 29th called "Another Backwards Christmas." I don't have the pre-order link ready yet, but will towards the end of this month. In the meantime, you can see the cover on the front page of my website here. I love it! If you happened to read "Backwards Christmas," another short story of mine, "Another Backwards Christmas" takes place in the same town (South Pole, Alaska...get it?) with different characters. I hope you'll enjoy it as the holiday season comes upon us!

BOOK CONVENTION GIVEAWAY!!!
I will be attending Show Me Your Books in Kansas City next September. Check out their website and the dates etc to make sure you can/want to go. I have 4 VIP tickets to giveaway!!! If you'd like a pair of them, email be back and tell me why you want to attend. I'll collect the emails and do a random drawing in the mid to late this week and get the winners information on how to redeem the tickets and get ready for a fanastic book convention!!

THE LEFTOVER
And I have to mention The Leftover in passing as well. If you haven't already read it, or have yet to leave a review, I'd love to have you do so! I truly love this book and want to turn the idea into a whole series in the future once both my girls are in school. We'll see how that goes!

Thank you again for your support! Feel free to reply or reach out to me any time! I love to hear from you!!!

It's here, it's here, it's finally here!

And I'm not excited at all (insert sarcasm here).

I honestly don't remember writing The Leftover, but I do remember sitting on the bathroom counter at my parents' house (trying to find privacy for the conversation) talking to the owner of BQB Publishing. That's when my excitement grew as we chatted about the possibilities and the publishing process. The next day, I signed the contract and that was well over a year ago.

So now I'm thrilled to have the finished product officially OUT!!!

And I have plenty to tell you so buckle down. I'll try to be concise, but that's not my strong suit.

Today:

You have options if you get bored today. First, I have an online release party going HERE of my own. My girls get out of school early today so I don't expect to do much this afternoon/evening, but I'll post some tidbits and giveaways so check in from time to time!

I'll also be hosting a two hour party on the Red Coat PR Reader page from 11-1pm central time HERE so pop in and say hi there too!

And I'm getting roasted HERE, which should be fun!!!

What Can You Do?

If you'd like to support my authorship, there are several things you can do. First, if you haven't gotten the book yet, grab it!

http://amzn.to/2pQ8Mm6

If you pre-ordered it already, THANK YOU! You can still help by sharing the link on social media, emailing friends, whatever.

If you got a review copy, you can leave a review on amazon, barned and noble, goodreads, wherever you can. I want to rack up as many reviews as possible. It's important for visibility.

This is the first book I have that is easy to get into bookstores. So you can also visit your local Barnes and Noble or other book stores and ASK FOR IT! And be sure to stop by the book signings I have set up. Check the schedule on my website to see what's close to you. Even if you have the book, don't leave me hanging alone. Come by!


I wrote "The Leftover" to prove to everyone everywhere that you (yes you!!!) are more capable of things than you think. Putting yourself into uncomfortable situations can surprise you, as it did my main character. Did she ever see herself on a reality show? A Survivor-like show, no less? Heavens no! But she ended up on one and it changed her life. You never know what life will bring. Let it! :)

Please let me know your thoughts on the book, if you have any questions about anything, if you have a book club, whatever. I'm here and I love email!

Hope to see you at the release parties AND book signings!!!

Brooke

AuthorBrookeWilliams.com

The Leftover is my latest romantic comedy and it comes out September 1 with BQB Publishing. I am especially excited about this release because BQB works with a distributor so you could see The Leftover in bookstores. That'll be different as I'll be able to do book signings etc. I'm working on a fall schedule for that this summer.

Though it doesn't release till Sept, The Leftover is available for pre-order now! Just click HERE to see it on amazon. It's also available at barnes and noble, kobo, itunes, etc. I'll include the blurb for the book below. Share the link/blurb on social media, if you would!!!

Megan Malone is the ultimate homebody. When her sister talks her into going on The Leftover, a local version of the TV show Survivor, she isn’t sure she’ll make it past the first vote. Cane Trevino is nursing a broken heart by joining the show as a medic. With time away from his regular job and a dozen contestants to distract him, he hopes he can finally get over the woman he thought was “the one.”


Thank you for your continued support! We'll chat again soon!

Brooke
AuthorBrookeWilliams.com

So much news, so little time. I apologize for not being more regular with these updates. I have some new freelance writing clients that are keeping me hopping. But I have some things I needed to share so here goes!

Do you live near St. Louis?
If you live near St. Louis, or you are willing to travel there, I have some cool news for you. Have you ever heard of Penned Con? If not, visit their website and check out the details. It's basically a huge, 2-day author signing event with speakers and all sorts of other cool things. The even better news is that I'll be one of those authors at the signing this year! The BEST news is that as a participating author, they're letting me give 6 general admission tickets away! So shoot me an email if you'd like to go and I'll do a random drawing.

Wrong Place, Right Time...on the way!
The re-release of Wrong Place, Right Time is on the way June 11! If you've read the book already, this is the same story with a new cover. If you haven't, it's my first romantic comedy ever and you might want to grab it cheap at 0.99 in pre-order. Just click HERE.

The Leftover...details
I'm looking ahead to by big release of the year, The Leftover! I couldn't be more excited. This summer, I'll be working with bookstores to set up as many signings as possible this fall. I'll be sure to let you know when/where those are so you can come grab a book from me in person. You don't want to leave me sitting there all alone, do you? But the kindle version is up for pre-sale already!!! See it HERE. And watch for the paperback on the horizon soon! My publisher sent out Advanced Reader Copies to all sorts of big reviewers (we're talking New York Times, here, people!) so hopefully you'll see it pop up here and there this fall! Fingers crossed! This could be huge for me!

Gotta get back to mommy duties. Stay in touch! :)

Brooke

Hey everyone! I realized it's been a while since I sent out an email so I thought I better update all of you on the happenings recently. Stay tuned for information overload! :)

Wrong Place, Right Time
My first romantic comedy is re-releasing in June. You can pre-order it now HERE. If you've already read this book, I want to be sure you know that this is the same book. It just has a different cover and has been re-formatted. If you read it in its previous form, you don't need to buy it again...unless you want to give a copy to a friend!

The Leftover
My BIG big release this year takes place in September (see quote above, I made the graphic myself...like it?) I'm currently seeking bloggers/reviewers/book clubs etc with an interest in promoting the book. If you are one or know one, let me know! It'll probably be up for pre-order relatively soon. SO excited!

Events
I'll be speaking at The Wordsowers Writer's Conference in Bellevue next weekend April 28-29. If you live in the area and want to go, check out their website for details HERE. I'll be speaking on TV and Radio Interviews and helping out in other ways during the event.

Penned Con
I'm super excited to go to my first large signing in St. Louis this September. If you haven't heard about Penned Con, check out the details HERE. I know it's far away, but they're already selling out of certain tickets, so if you have an interest in going, grab one soon!

Clients
I've been keeping up with a number of clients for my freelance writing business. I write for a company in England that has been sending me short 50 word descriptions and some strange research projects. I have no idea where they end up. :) I also do quite a bit of blog and proofreading work for a marketing company. I have been enjoying writing listicle-type articles as well for the website TheThings.com. I will share my articles on facebook and twitter when they are published. If you really want to help me out, click on those links! The more views they get, the better. Here's an example of one such article...it's a funny one! Click HERE to see it.

That's about all for now, I think! Are you overloaded? I think I am too... :) Talk to you soon! As always, contact me anytime!

Thank You so much to OCA school for having me as the special guest at their literacy night. It was such a blast to read to the kids, play literacy games, and talk about being an author!

Luckily, I had a practice session right before this night as my daughter's class had me visit the week before for Read Across America Week!

I can't tell you how great an audience of kids is. They actually laugh at my jokes! :) And they have such a zest for stories and learning. After last night, I have a whole series of kids books in mind for the future. Watch out, children everywhere!! :)

If you have kids and your school wants a visit, let me know! It's fun to read to the kids and I have some great story-telling games we play together to get them excited about reading as well.

Before we get to too many more kids books, "What Happens at the Airport," a short story comes out this following Tuesday so watch for details on that or Pre-order HERE

We'll chat soon!

P.S. Thank you to Clifford for putting up with my girls! You are a champion!!

Being a freelance writer is really fun! I get to take jobs from a wide variety of companies all over the world. I get to set my own schedule (or rather, my daughters get to set my schedule) and I get to learn a lot about tons of different topics.

Take today, for example. I did some proofreading for a marketing company that specializes in window replacement blogs. I wrote articles on car repair shops. And I did some product descriptions for a company in England. And that was just in the two hours I have available each day. It's a blast!

What's the downside to freelance writing, or any job, for that matter? Taxes! :) Taxes are so out of my realm of understanding it's not even funny. But I know they're a necessity to living in this great country. And I've learned how to deal with them! Here are a few tips if you're a freelance writer or have a home business of any kind.

Tip#1: Track Expenses
I struggled with this the first few years I wrote on a freelance basis and, in fact, didn't track them at all. I'm not the type who keeps receipts and keeps track of them very well (or at all, really!) If I could have passed them off to my mom, they'd all be filed in alphabetical order and color coded. :) Once my business really took off, I recognized that I needed to track expenses better. I put an app on my phone so any time I bought printer ink, went to the post office to mail books, or ordered materials online, I could quickly put that expense on the app. At the end of the year, I create a report through that app, email it to myself, print it, and viola, there are my expenses for the year. There are a lot of resources out there that can help you do it so you don't have to write things down and track receipts all the time. This one from The Quickbooks business expense page might be a good idea to try too.

Tip#2: Track Income
As a freelance writer, income is odd. I get W2 forms from some companies and from others, I don't. So absolutely any time anyone pays me anything, I write it down. I have a little notebook above my computer and when I get an email with a payment from a client, I don't move the email until I write it down. Once I have the payment written down, I can delete or move the email. At the end of each month, I write up a summary that collects what I get paid from each company. I get a grand total from each company and a grand total for the month. At the end of the year, I do a report that states how much each company paid me. Like I said, some send me W2s and some don't, but this way, I have them all and can report that income. I only have a rare few that take taxes from what they pay me. Most of what I get is all NOT taxed, which means I have to report it.

Tip#3: Deduct the House
Just like expenses can be deducted, so too can a portion of my home expenses. My freelance writing business is run out of my house so that means a portion of the home can be deducted as a further expense. Set up an office and measure it. If the office is 1/10 of the house, you can include 1/10 of the electricity and other such bills.

Tip#4: Find Help
If, like me, you're ignorant when it comes to taxes overall, just gather the information I listed above along with anything that comes in the mail that says "important tax document" and take it to someone who is better informed than you are. My family has a tax guy because we want to make sure it's done right. Plus, we don't have the time or the brain power to spend on such ventures. As much as we dislike having to pay for such a service, it's worth it to get the project off our hands.

And that's how I deal with freelance writing and taxes for my home business. I'd go into greater detail, but clients are awaiting and it's time to get back to work for them! :)