Romance Weekly

It's Tuesday again and that means it's time for Romance Weekly. Here are my answers to this week's questions:

If someone could observe you writing without you knowing they were there, what strange practices might they catch you doing?

Strange practices? Sorry to disappoint, but if somebody observed me writing, they'd be bored to death. I sit at my laptop and type away. Sometimes, I stop to research something on the internet or in a book, but that's about as thrilling as it gets, I'm afraid. All the fun is inside my head and pouring through my fingertips into the computer.

Other than a creative outlet, how does writing benefit you?

I wish I could say it benefits me monetarily, but after six years of working my arse off on my first book (writing, rewriting, pitching, submitting, editing, and now pimping like a madwoman), I've made a whopping $52. I still qualify for food stamps and, as my husband loves to remind me, I've spent more promoting the book than I've made. That said, I do feel writing gives me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. It also gives me the freedom I crave. Just hope it starts to pay off by and by.

How do you feed your muse?

Usually, it's with research. My ideas tend to grow from there. History and myth, mostly. My muse prefers to share things in snippets rather than great batches, so my stories are built tree by tree until there's a forest. Then, the forest gets pruned and raked until I'm satisfied I've done my best.

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Thanks for dropping by this week! Time to head on over to hear what oddness Jeana E. Mann gets up to while writing. Rumor has it, she does a handstand over her computer and types with her tongue, but you can't believe everything you hear. Find out for yourself: http://jeanaemann.net