by Timothy Pike

It’s official! One of our best writers, Tiffany S. Doran, has just released her very first novel, a feel-good romance called Desires of the Heart.

As someone who’s been acting as an online mentor to her for several years now, I couldn’t be more proud of what she’s achieved.

Desires of the Heart is now available on Amazon, both in Kindle Unlimited and paperback. (If you’re a Kindle Unlimited member, you can download the book and read it right now for no charge.)

The journey

Tiffany’s journey from blank page to book on the shelf can serve as an inspiration to anyone who wants to become a published author.

In fact, I myself was so inspired by her motivation and hard work, I picked out the five most important steps Tiffany took to make her dream a reality.

Here are the steps, which can work for you, too:

1. Write the novel. This might seem like an obvious step one, but I first got to know Tiffany when she began posting chapters of her novel on ChapterBuzz. At that time, she was participating in one of our writing challenges—one of many we’ve held over the years to motivate writers to get their ideas onto paper. When the Challenge was over, she kept writing and posting, and her book steadily rose up the ChapterBuzz charts.

2. Dream big. It wasn’t just the novel. Another of Tiffany’s dreams was to live near the ocean and be a full-time writer. She gave herself five years to make it happen. Well, that was almost six years ago. Dreams, as many of us know, don’t always adhere to the schedule we have in mind. But now she believes this dream, too, could become a reality in the not-so-distant future.

So patience is key when it comes to letting dreams blossom. It’s about keeping a delicate balance between working hard to achieve it and not forcing every single detail to happen as you imagine it. This is because life sometimes has a slightly different plan for you—usually a better, even more fulfilling one. Just be patient, knowing it will happen.

3. Make a plan. Of course, if you spend all your time dreaming and never take action, you’ll be dreaming forever. We don’t have control over everything, but we do have control over some things. Knowing this, Tiffany sat down with her husband, and together they made a plan—once and for all—to get this book out into the world.

4. Tell everyone you know. As the big release date got closer, Tiffany told all her friends the book was on its way. Her family was rooting for her. She spoke to every customer who came into her place of work. And through all of it, she was blogging and getting on social media.

5. Publish that book! My goal is to make it as easy as possible for writers to become published authors. I do this through a done-for-you service I call the Deluxe Indie Author. Several months ago, when I got an e-mail from Tiffany saying she wanted to work with me to publish her book, I was overjoyed—I knew her long-held dream was about to come true. It’s happening! was my first thought. I was so glad Tiffany was finally ready to join the ranks of the elite, that small percentage of people who have actually written and published a book.

“My book is being very well received!!” Tiffany wrote in an e-mail to me. “IT IS BEAUTIFUL! The cover is gorgeous, the feel of the book is amazing. I was almost late for work yesterday because I didn’t want to leave … I just kept touching my book.”

All in all, we had a great time putting this book together. While I handle all the details of publishing the book, authors get to have as much or as little input as they like. Tiffany is a person who loves being closely involved in the process, and one of the best parts was choosing a book cover. Our graphic designer sent over a number of different concepts, and narrowing it down to a winning cover was a lot of fun.

Turned out great, don’t you think?

Here’s what it’s about:

In the small town of Orange Grove, Georgia, Katie Calhoun spends most days helping her dad on their family farm. After a fire destroys almost everything they have, it’s up to father and daughter to put back the pieces. Soon after, Katie’s boyfriend and high school sweetheart, Matt Fuller, is suddenly forced to move out to California, shattering her dreams of a perfect wedding and life with him. With both the farm and her one true love lost, Katie is devastated. That’s when she meets Buck Brady, a newly hired farmhand, and soon finds herself falling under the spell of his charm and good looks.

Years later, when Matt shows up on Katie’s front porch wanting to rekindle the love they had all those years before, Katie has to choose the person she wants to spend forever with: her old flame or new lover. Meanwhile, there is another fire burning hot for Katie: a man with a secret obsession, lurking in the shadows, who is prepared to show everyone just how much he desires Katie—even if it means taking her by force.

And now that Desires of the Heart has been released, we’ll be starting on the next book in the series. We’re aiming for a Fall 2023 release!

Be sure to check out:

1. Desires of the Heart. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can download it and read it on your Kindle right now, for no charge. Or see for yourself how beautiful the paperback is by purchasing a copy.

2. My done-for-you publishing service. I work hard to make sure every little detail is taken care of, from editing to book cover design to navigating the whole publishing process.

3. Tiffany’s website. For now, it’s her blog, but Tiffany is working on building it into a one-stop source of information about her and her writing.

Timothy Pike is the founder of ChapterBuzz and editor-in-chief of Books & Buzz Magazine, and specializes in helping authors publish beautiful books on Amazon.