Stitches and Stories Press

New and Exciting Things

milissalstory — Tue, 02 May 2023 16:33:21 +0000

Dear Reader,

I wanted to share with you that new and excited things are happening here at Stitches and Stories. By now you have seen the new logo and other upgrades are forthcoming. One change will be I am moving my blog over to a new site. You shouldn’t see any interruption unless you follow me specifically on WordPress. Please bookmark www.stitchesandstories.com and you will be able to follow me over.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Hello Spring

milissalstory — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 04:09:09 +0000

March is on its way out. Here in coastal Virginia, we have had the start of daylight savings time and the official start of spring. I am super excited at the promise of warmer weather and it staying light longer. No more leaving work when it is dark. With these longer days, I have some renewed energy. I rearranged my writing space, and we started preparing for the vegetable garden.

The garden bed was creating using reclaimed wood. This week we will add garden soils and compost that has been composting all winter and is ready to go into the spring bed.

I’ve been playing with Mid-Journey, creating some amazing art inspired by my new project. I am sharing with my Patreon supporters first. So stay tuned here and I’ll share them in a bit or head over to my Patreon page to check out the art and other behind-the-scenes fun and writing news. Your support on the page will help me get started with audio production for my books and I am seriously thinking about other audio content such as a podcast or something on my YouTube channel.

Smashing it in March

milissalstory — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 01:24:07 +0000

Hello Dear Reader,

I can’t believe it is March already. It’s that time of year when we have high temperatures in the 70s and then in the 40s . Flowers bloom, then get frost bite. But it is spring training. If you’re a baseball fan like me, this is an exciting time. Those first hints of how your team might perform this year. Daylight savings time begins at least here in coastal Virginia and there is hope that summer will be here soon.

It is also Read An Ebook week! Yeah, why should St. Patrick’s day get all the glory this month? Check out Smashwords for exciting deals on ebooks from March 5-11!

And just because February has passed doesn’t mean there is no romance in March. In fact, there is a great promotion going on with contemporary and billionaire romance in full swing. Many of the books are free and some are discounted. Here is your next Romantic Escape!

New Year Starting in February

milissalstory — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 15:56:27 +0000

January was a regrouping month. A time to sit quietly after the holidays and plan out the next eleven months. I have emerged with a solid publishing schedule for 2023 and a plan to try new things. One goal for this year is to get my Gates Point romance series into audio. Audio is expensive and time consuming, and that is only compounded by the fact that I have six books out that need a voice. So I have taken some first steps in getting that goal started.

I am also working on a co-authoring project for the new year. I’m extremely excited about this project. It is a crime fiction set in the 1970s. The search has been so much fun and to be writing it with someone who lived it is very special. I can’t wait to tell you more about this adventure.

Winter hasn’t disappointed this year. We have had cold pipe bursting temperatures, ten minutes of snow, but wonderful indoor activities to keep the blues away. It is the perfect time to stay warm and cozy with a good book, a cuppa and friends and family.

I love these days for curling up with my laptop and getting some work done. I hope you are happy and surrounded by books and love wherever you are today.

Storms Can Produce the Best Sunsets

milissalstory — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 17:54:00 +0000

Or in this case, an impending storm.

This was taken yesterday evening, we are expecting some rain and wind from Tropical Storm Ian. Clouds have already started moving in and today they gave us a beautiful sunset. And while the skies are lovely here, please keep the people in Florida in your hearts.

We are expecting rain all weekend, and that means plenty of writing time for me without the great outdoors as a distraction. I have a book in the editing stage, another I’m writing, and another four outlined. The fourth quarter is going to be very busy with the book in editing mode and the other I’m trying to finish by the middle of October. I’ve sent the first four chapters of that book for editing while I write the next four chapters, which I should finish up today. So things are very busy here in the writing shack.

And just in case you need something to read there are a couple of great promotions going on right now.

Sci-Fi Explosion ends tomorrow so pop on over and check it out.

If romance is more you style then check our the Happy Ever After promo running now until October 16th.

Peace, Love and Happiness

Milissa “Lynn” Story

In the Blink of an Eye

milissalstory — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:08:46 +0000

Just like that, summer is essentially over, the leaves are just starting to turn, storms are starting to appear off the coast, the kids are back in school and there are only 109 days until Christmas. I know it is too soon to be decorating but, I am in planning stages. With the addition of a new dog on our family this year I think a tree is out of the question. I have images of her dragging it through the house. So I will need to come up with other ideas. Some of my neighbors have already started putting up Halloween decorations in their yards. A new theme in the neighborhood this year seems to be these huge skeletons with glowing eyes. (Refer to the opening sentence of this paragraph), I worry for their inflatables and megaskeltons should we get hit with a tropical storm.

In writing news, Loyal Blue, book 9 in the Gates Point series is with the editor. I’ve started the Christmas novel for this year. Yes, I am behind schedule. Some good news, the entire Gates Point series is not available on Google Play! I’m very excited to be able to offer them on this platform.

In the new year, I will be switching gears and working on a new crime/detective fiction novel and bring you a new edgy character.

Exciting, right? So stay tuned for updates on this one.

Another project I have planned for the new year, is a class. I am putting together a class for beginners to help people get started writing and publishing their books. I am planning a series of in person classes locally as well a online. Again, stay tuned for updates. This is a new venture for me, so it is going to take a little time to get it set up and tested.

For now, time to get back to writing.

Until next time.

Girls of Summer

milissalstory — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 04:18:31 +0000

Dear Reader,

I hope you are having a wonderful summer. It is hard to believe that it is nearly over. Schools start here on Monday and even more unbelievable is that there are only 119 days until Christmas. There has been a lot going on here. We adopted a new family member this summer, Maddie is our new 2 year old rescue.

Maddie’s First Days in Her New Home

Life has changed quite a bit, writing is still getting done, albeit a bit slower than normal. I have a new day job that has me working a slightly different schedule. I do plan to have a new romance book out in September and another in time for Christmas.

In between longer hours, training Maddie and writing, I’ve been doing a lot of reading this summer. I have been hooked on bad boy biker romance novels by Piper Davenport. What are you reading this summer?

I am planning attending a writers conference in November and a few other speaking engagements pending. Exciting announcements to come.

Loveuary

milissalstory — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 15:14:34 +0000

It looks like six more weeks of winter…..or not depending on where you live. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, but down here in Virginia Chesapeake Chuck didn’t see her shadow and picked the Rams to win the Super Bowl.

One thing that is certain no matter where you live or your weather, you don’t want to miss out on some great romance in the month of February! I shared with my newsletter subscribers yesterday a couple of awesome deals, but they are too awesome to keep to ourselves so I thought I’d share them with you today too. I mean who doesn’t love free, right? And this month of romance and love is the perfect time to find that new book boy/girlfriend.

If you want to read the newsletter you can click here.

Or if you want to jump right into the the TBR pile just waiting for you, click the links below.

The Prophecy of the Water Sprite

Heartbeat – Lovebeat

So much to do, so much to say

milissalstory — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 03:39:32 +0000

We are expecting snow here, and on the coast that normally means an inch or less that will be gone in a day. It never stays cold enough for the snow to hang around. But, not this time, this time they are using words like “significant” snowfall. My inner child is excited at the prospect of seeing the yard blanketed in the white fluffy stuff, but my adult side groans at the thought of having to trudge to work in it.

The thought of getting cozy by a fire with a book, a bit of knitting or even my laptop is just too tempting. Besides the prospect of snow, things here are too busy for any one person to manage. I can barely keep up with my emails these days, although they are all much appreciated. I am using January to outline all the books I want to publish in 2022. I have four romance novels outlined, I started a new book for a potential new series. I’m also planning to outline a dark urban fantasy series as well, so stay tuned for all of that in the coming months.

If you’re a writer what are your goals for 2022? Do you have a favorite software tool that you use, or are you old school with a notebook and a pen? I admit I have a thing for pens.

If you want to learn more about my upcoming romance novels join me here for updates, freebies and get the first in series free.

Or if sci-fi/fantasy is more your thing, then join the street team and get updates and advance notices of new releases and even an opportunity to name a character in my new series!

More to come next week.

So Cold

milissalstory — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 16:33:34 +0000

It is cold here in coastal Virginia this week. It’s been in the 20s at night and that is too cold for me. I am definitely a warm weather girl. I wish I could stay inside next to a fire with a good book or a bit of knitting until spring. At least it isn’t completely dark when leaving work in the evenings.

Twilight over the river

New year books sales are off to a great start and I have some books outlined for the year. So these first twelve days of the month have been productive. I hope 2022 promises to be a wonderful year for you as well.

Don’t forget you still have a couple of weeks left in these January book promos. There are some awesome free or $.99 books to start your new year off right.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/clhpromo12345/6oxtip970n

https://books.bookfunnel.com/clhpromo1234578/u8xbhmwjsm

I want to thank you all who for downloading my books. Both the romance and sci-fi series were download in 50 countries in 2021! You guys are awesome! Cheers to 2022!