Sign up for my newsletter on the state of fiction writing today plus updates on my series The Amber Saga. horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

The proof copy arrived and has the Human Authored badge from the Authors Guild on the back cover! horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

One of my favorite parts of being a fiction writer is doing research to make sure the facts are correct for the place and time of the story. So I am off to do in-person research in the Land of Enchantment - New Mexico. Here are a few photos from my last trip there. To read past newsletters, horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-… To sign up for future newsletters, horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

A little trailer for Becoming Amber, Book One in the Amber Saga

Becoming Amber is getting closer to the finish line all the time!!! Did you know there were so many stages to publishing a book!? You've probably hear the term "copy editor" but actually, there are several kinds. Read all about what they do with an author's manuscript here horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

Thank you for all your votes and comments in response to my newsletter and on social media!!! The cover that got the most votes IS the final cover!! So that's a good thing. Read some of the comments in last week's newsletter - there are some really good ones!! horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

My first book in The Amber Saga will be coming out later this year. Which cover do you like best for Book one? And why?

The contract you receive from a publisher is usually their boilerplate template, that is, a standard contract. I always look at those as a starting point. Everything is negotiable. You won't get what you want if you don't ask. Read past newsletters and sign up here: horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

Books by established novelists are often put right into the pipeline. Debut novelists, like me, can’t even see the pipeline, let alone get into it. Read about my journey here horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-…

Welcome to Cherry Hill's Adventures in Fiction Writing - 3 This is the third in a series about the state of fiction writing today along with updates on my debut novel, Becoming Amber, which will be released later this year. horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-… My first newsletter covered the love of writing; the second the importance of a good idea. horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-… Now it's time to write. Right?

Hello there! And welcome to Adventures in Fiction Writing - 2 This is the second in a series of emails about the state of fiction writing today along with updates on my debut novel, Becoming Amber, which will be released later this year. horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-… My first newsletter covered the love of writing. Now the work begins. One of the keys to a book's success is starting with a good idea. The Idea For years before writing my first book, I taught college and university equine courses. What catapulted me into book writing was seeing students shaking their their cramped hands from taking so many notes during my lectures and asking, "When are you going to write a book for this class?" So, for many years, that's just what I did. I had a laser focus on my topics and created books for students, horse owners, budding riders and trainers, land stewards, and others interested in learning about horses. In 24 years, I wrote 33 books on training, riding, facilities and care. With my non-fiction horse books, the ideas came faster than I could write. Besides books, I was also a photojournalist for over a dozen equine magazines and had more than a thousand articles published. Write What You Know When I turned to fiction, it was like stepping off a cliff and falling into a nebula, a vast expanse, light-years wide, where new stars are born . . . and dying stars collapse. While zillions of ideas whirled around looking to take hold, advice from my favorite creative writing professor kept popping into my head: "Write what you know." Well, I know horses for one thing. And I'm an avid cook. I love nature and know quite a lot about the natural world. And I play guitar and piano, shoot photos and guns. I wanted to use my experiences and knowledge to write fictional stories filled with adventure, crime, mystery, suspense, and the emotional trials of life. Where Do I Start? aa, sou In a setting you know well, grasshopper. I've lived in Canada and nine US states, so I chose a time and place I knew was rich with history and characters for my first novel - post-earthquake Alaska. For three years during the late 1960s, the Kenai Peninsula was my home and I knew my experience there would add authenticity and a high level of accuracy to the details in my story. With the time and place set, the fun began! With a free rein, I dove in and created characters and a story line set in the rich fabric of the Alaska bush. Stay tuned to hear how Becoming Amber came to life. Until then, Cherry Hill

Happy Birthday USA!

To sign up for my Adventures in Fiction Writing Blog, click here: horsekeeping.com/cherryhill-… Here is the first newsletter as a sample: Hello there! Welcome to the first of my personal newsletters. Over the upcoming weeks, this Adventures in Fiction Writing newsletter will give you updates on my debut novel and series. And because I frequently get questions about the profession of writing, I'll also provide an inside view of today's publishing world. My first novel, Becoming Amber, will be released later this year. It's the first book in The Amber Saga. The fiction journey today is so unlike my 30 trips with non-fiction horse books that, in some ways, I felt like I was starting from square one! Getting a novel published in 2026 is like trying to sneak into an alternate universe. There is an almost impenetrable curtain between aspiring novelists and agents/publishers. But more on all that down the road. I like to start at the beginning. Step One. You gotta love writing. You just have to - because . . . You'll spend entire afternoons (or nights!) creating your stories without so much as standing up to stretch or grabbing a grass-fed meat stick. You'll suddenly get struck with a plot idea or a line of dialogue, and before it escapes, you'll scramble for the closest envelope or napkin where you jot it down . . . then later wonder what the heck it means! You'll be awakened in the wee hours by your characters auditioning for a part in the next chapter. Yeah, you gotta love writing. I, for one, have always loved writing. To see how I got started, step into the Wayback Machine with me to a time when there were no cell phones, no instant messaging, no computers. Imagine that! To keep in touch with friends and family, you could visit, call, or write. But using a rotary dial phone to place a 15-minute call in 1965 from Michigan to California cost $78.05. That's $824.62 in today's dollars! So, handwritten or typed letters were the most common way of communicating long distance. I tried to make my letters interesting and enticing so my siblings, cousins, or pen pals would write back soon. The reward was receiving a reply that not only commented on what I had written but filled me in on my correspondent's latest news - the next best thing to sitting down and having a good long talk. Yeah, to be a writer, you gotta love writing. And sitting. And then counteracting all that sitting with walking, riding a bike or a horse, working at a treadmill desk, or shopping in a big box store. My husband, Richard, made me a plaque for the wall of my scriptorium which quotes Sinclair Lewis: "The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair." Stay tuned for the next installment of Adventures in Fiction Writing. Until then, Cherry Author Cherry Hill