Hello and welcome to my post for The Writing Process Blog Hop of 2014.
Thanks to the lovely Rebecca Grace Allen for tagging me in her post. Rebecca’s first novella, The Duality Principle, will be released by Samhain Publishing on January 6, 2015.
So, the rules as I understand them are I get to answer the same four question the author before me answered, then tag new authors to spread the love! Here goes!
1) What am I working on right now?
I always have a million things in progress at once, but I will list the top four!
I just finished edits for my short story called Larissa’s Last Night to be published in the Crimson 2 Anthology on March 28, 2013 from Breathless Press.
I am in the middle of edits for the third book in my Catnip and Cauldrons series titled Feral Escape. It’s a hot, hot, hot paranormal romance (okay, I think it’s hot!). I should have a release date and a cover reveal very soon!
My third project is the revised, expanded version of my short story This Time It’s Different which was published in 2012. TTID is a rock star romance about two high school sweethearts finding their way back to each other. It’s now novella length. Sydney and Maddox have a lot more adventures on their way to their happily ever after and I can’t wait to share their story! This is book one of a planned four to five book series.
My fourth project kind of came out of nowhere at a time when I needed to be working on other things. It’s an MC romance about second loves. It’s the first work I’ve attempted to write in first person and is turning out pretty interesting (to me anyway!). I usually write short and this one has expanded like crazy, very fast!
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
It is hard for me to come up with an answer to this question even though it’s an important one. I’ve been told my work has a unique voice. I also like to deal with very real, sometimes painful issues. Onyx Knight (the heroine from my novellas Onyx Night and Onyx Shadows, who also makes an appearance in Feral Escape) deals with the death of her parents at a rather young age. In This Time It’s Different, Sydney is dealing with an issue that unfortunately many twenty-somethings are experiencing right now. She’s graduated from college, but unable to find a job in her field or make enough money to support herself and pay off her student loans.
Something else I like is a spunky heroine who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself. Molly, my heroine in Feral Escape has a pretty feisty response to one of her kidnappers who tries to force her into something she’s not interested in. I tend to have a bit of a quirky, dry sense of humor too and I think that comes across in my stories. I like a little bit of snark with my romance.
3) Why do I write what I do?
Okay, this is going to sound so obnoxious, but I write what I do because I have to. I need to get the ideas out of my head and onto paper. I love writing and crafting stories. Even if no one ever reads my work, I still enjoy doing it.
4) How does my writing process work?
My writing process is nuts because I haven’t really developed one yet. I am a total pantser. Generally it goes like this:
I get an idea in my head, “what if ?” and my brain just runs with it. I’ll sketch out as much of that idea as possible and see where it leads. I also bounce ideas off some of my writer friends. I like to do a lot of character research to get to know my characters. One of the questions I always ask my characters is: Did you go to your high school prom? It’s odd, but sometimes I discover something I didn’t know about my character. For example in my sequel to This Time It’s Different, I discovered that Chase didn’t go to his prom because he got suspended from school that week for pulling a prank. It gave me a lot of insight into his “bad boy” persona to have that bit of information.
I also spend a lot of time driving and different ideas pop into my head while I’m behind the wheel. One of my short stories, Rest Stop, was inspired by a brief, flirtatious encounter on the road.
That’s it for me! If you read all of that, you’re a trooper and I thank you very much! I’m tagging three wonderful writers: Kelliea Ashley, Kirsten Blacketer , and Shelli Rosewarne . Please check out their blogs in the coming weeks to see how they answer the same questions.
TAG! You’re it!
