Romance Weekly

 

It's that time again, boys and girls. Sorry I've been quiet the past couple of weeks, but the first-round edits came back on The Knight of Wands, book one in my PNR/UF series to be released next year by Lyrical/Kensington, and let's just say they were no small feat! Still deep in rewrite land, looking for a breadcrumb trail. Yikes. Anyway, I'm back this week to answer the Romance Weekly jackpot questions. Here they are:

How often do you write?

I typically write all day every day, but sometimes must take time off to edit, promote, and make and mail out swag. What about taking time out for life? Yeah, well, it helps that I don't have one. 

Do you think it’s important to your craft to write as much as you can, and as often as you can?

I used to take music lessons and my teacher said something like this: "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." I think that applies to writing, too. You can write like the Dickens, but you'd also better be honing your craft, learning new things, strengthening your weaknesses, and incorporating new insights into your writing. Obviously, you have to write with a vengeance, but you also need to grow and improve and you can't do that in a self-contained writing vacuum.

What is your opinion on the saying “if you don’t write every day, you’re not a writer"?

I think it's total ballocks. If you write, you're a writer. Not an author, perhaps, but certainly a writer. Sometimes, it's not possible to write everyday and I think the whole disciplined daily word count goals and such are great for people who need that kind of motivation. I typically don't. I get up in the morning and write until I can't see straight. I get up to go to the bathroom, deal with problems, and make myself a sandwich, which I eat at my desk. I'm a very driven, self-motivated person. If anything, I need a way to balance my writing with other things, not write more. As Anne Rice once said, "I write obsessively."

The next stop on our little tour is the blog of the fabulous Susan Peterson Wisnewski. Take it away, Susan!

Romance Weekly

 

Welcome to my little slice of this wonderful weekly blog circle. Here are this week's jackpot questions:

How do you respond to someone calling your writing smut or demeaning your work in some other way?

Well, it depends. My books can get pretty dark in spots and it's not everybody's cup of tea. I don't try to hide the fact (far from it), but, even so, a few have found it not to their taste. All criticism hurts. If it's mean-spirited, it makes me angry.  I've only had one one-star review and, while it bothered me, I knew it was an act of sabotage by another author who was jealous of all my good reviews. I know who was behind it and that she's done it to others. I believe karma and the spell I cast will return her bad actions to her in time, probably magnified. I used one of the spells in the book her hired troll attacked. Poetic justice, IMHO. I don't confront. It's not my style. I work quietly behind the scenes in my own way to bring justice about. I don't expect everybody to like or "get" my work, but, in my book (grimoire?), an honest review by someone who didn't find the book to their taste is not the same thing as a deliberate attack by a mean-spirited person who probably didn't even read it.

When critiquing or beta reading, do you ever find the voice of the other author creeping into your writing?

No. Sometimes I wish I could improve by osmosis, but it doesn't seem to work for me. I have to work very hard and very deliberately to develop my voice and hone my skills as an author.

What’s one quirky thing you do or must have around you while writing?

I've been asked this before and have no good answer. Quirky? Can't think of anything. I keep my library of books on the tarot, astrology, and other forms of magic within arm's reach, but there's nothing very quirky about that given my subject matter. I also keep my Edward Cullen action figure on the shelf of my secretary and the tarot cards relating to the book I'm working on displayed sometimes. Right now, for instance, I have the Knight of Pentacles in front of me because I'm plotting that book in my series and want him to speak to me in some way. I suppose that's a bit odd, but it's not like I have a rabbit's foot or anything. 


Thanks for visiting. Time to move on and see what the lovely and talented Jeana E. Mann has to say in response to these questions. http://jeanaemann.net

Romance Weekly

 

 

Oh, my goodness. Is it Tuesday already? Golly, how time flies when your head's in your next book. Speaking of writing, here are my answers to this week's questions about my craft and process:

When writing your novel, do you know how it’s going to end before you write, or do you write from start to finish?

I typically outline before I start writing, so I have a sense of where things are supposed to go. More often than not, the story deviates widely from the path once I start writing it. Even so, I do my best to rein it back to the ending I envisioned. If it veers off in a direction I deem better than the original, I'll follow along and re-plot as I go.  In romances, there has to be a happy ending for the couple in the story, so it's really a question of the degree of resolution and how they get there.

How do the people you know impact your writing? Are you influenced by friends and family for your characters?

Friends and family, no. Bullies and bad actors I've encountered in real life and on social media sites, maybe. Mostly, however, my characters are drawn from research, the needs of the story, and facets of myself. One of the villains in my forthcoming political thriller is based on Rupert Murdoch. The other was drawn from research into sociopaths and serial killers. Who needs to invent monsters when their are so many real-life examples to draw from?

Describe the hero in your current WIP in three words.

Haunted, passionate, resourceful.


Thanks so much for stopping by. Please move on to the next writer in the circle, the lovely and talented Susan Peterson Wisnewski: http://spwwrites.com/blog

Romance Weekly

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

Welcome to my tiny slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

What’s your ideal: alpha or beta and why?

Beta, but not wimpy. Why? Because I like men who are thoughtful, intelligent, and sensitive, as well as strong. My heroes might resist the relationship for their own misguided (albeit noble) reasons, but once they relent, they are equal partners with the heroine. I can't stand domineering, controlling men. I could never fall in love with one or expect any heroine of mine to do the same. He might be a diamond in the rough who needs a bit of sprucing up or a wild shade who needs taming or a tortured soul in need of saving, but the only bullies in my books are the villains..

Do you have a male buddy or mate you use for confirmation or inspiration when crafting your heroes?

I have a husband, but he doesn't take an active role in character development or serve as a model for my heroes.   I tend to use tarot cards, astrological signs, and the enneagram to craft my characters. Linda Goodman's Sun Signs describes the attributes of the men of each sign in a good bit of detail. In the case of my Knights of Avalon series (to be launched in 2015 by Lyrical/Kensington), I'm using the four knights of the tarot as the basis for the namesake hero. The Knight of Wands is a fiery Leo; the Knight of Cups is an emotional water sign; the Knight of Pentacles is a stubborn Taurus whose entrenched in more ways than one; the Knight of Swords will be an air sign who uses brains rather than brawn to win the day. Knowing the corresponding zodiacal signs of each card, I read Linda Goodman's descriptions until I find the one that resonates with the hero and story I have in mind. I then might use the enneagram to discover his deeper drivers.

What does any hero have to do to win your heart?

Be noble in his intentions, however misguided they may be, and care about more than himself and his personal agenda. I try to give my characters a world view and values I admire. I try to broaden the horizons of readers a little while telling them a story. Stories were invented to teach us things. I strive to keep that allegorical element operating in mine, but as invisibly as possible. I try not to preach, but there's definitely underlying perspective and themes if readers bother to look for them.


Thanks for stopping by. Your next stop in the circle is the blog of the lovely and talented Sarah Hegger, whose fabulous debut novel, The Bride Gift, is reviewed below. Take a moment to read the review if you would before popping over to Sarah's blog: http://sarahhegger.wordpress.com

Romance Weekly

If' you've just come from Susan Peterson Wiseniski's blog, welcome to my little slice of the Romance Weekly pie!

Have you always written romance?

No.  And even when I do write romance, it doesn't follow the rules of the genre, probably because I mostly read literary fiction, not genre fiction. I know I shouldn't admit this, but I only started reading genre romance after I started writing what seemed to be romance. My next book, releasing the end of August, is a political thriller. There's a romantic subplot, but it's definitely not a romance. The books I'm working on for my Knights of Avalon series are a mixture of erotic paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and high fantasy.

How do you deal with critiques about the romance genre?

I'm not sure to answer that, since I struggle with my own self-criticisms about writing romance. It helped to go to the national RWA conference last year. I met so many brilliant women there who were writing romance it made me feel proud to be in their company.

What’s the one thing about our genre you’d like people to know?

If you think writing a book, romance or otherwise, is easy, think again. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever done and I was a pretty good writer when I started.


Thanks for dropping by. Next stop, the blog of Victoria Barbour, the creator of this week's questions: http://victoriabarbour.com/blog 

 

 

Romance Weekly

 

My, oh my, but the weeks do fly by. Here it is Tuesday again and that means it's time for Romance Weekly. This week's questions come from my dear friend Kate Robbins. I've just finished reading her soon-to-be-released book, PROMISED TO THE HIGHLANDER, and loved every word of it. I'll be featuring Kate and her new book on my blog on June 11, so be sure to come back for that.

Here are my answers to this week's jackpot questions:

How much of yourself do you write into your characters? Or do you write characters completely opposite to you?

This is a tough one. Obviously, there are components of myself in my characters. Otherwise, I couldn't give them depth, and some of them have experiences drawn from my life in their back stories, but mainly I wouldn't say they're reflections of me. I go through a pretty involved process to create my characters, including assigning them an astrological sign that fits the personality I'm considering to fit the storyline. I also use the Enneagram to get at motivation and try to give them a back story that reinforces these things. Right now, for example, I'm creating the characters and story for The Knight of Pentacles, book three in my Knights of Avalon series. Each of the books is named after one of the knights of the tarot and emulates the qualities the card represents. Unlike the other three knight cards, the Knight of Pentacles is stationary. His horse is standing still, in other words. So, my hero is stuck. Pentacles are associated with the element of earth, so he needs to be an earth sign. I decided he's Taurus, which fits the story and sets up his conflicts. The heroine, I'm thinking, might be Virgo. At the start of the book, she's been dumped by her fiance the night before their wedding after a very long engagement. Because it's too late to get a refund on the honeymoon cottage she's rented, she decides to take the time alone to heal her broken heart. While there, she meets the knight who guards the adjacent glen where the portal into Avalon can be found.  I was once dumped by someone I was engaged to. The circumstances and reasons were different, but the feelings of heartache and loss were the same, so I will draw on those feelings to make her sympathetic and believable.

Has your writing helped you see events in your own life clearer?

Not yet, but there's still time! It has helped rekindle my interest in paganism and the tarot cards, so that's something.

Have you written a character with more of your personal characteristics than any other? What are they?

Now, there's a loaded question if ever I saw one! I'd have to say all of my heroines suffer from feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt and many of my characters share my view of the world. But not one more than another.

Thanks for stopping by. Next stop, the lovely and talented Jo Richardson's blog: http://jrrichardsonfics.wordpress.com/

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.

***

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

Romance Weekly

 

And, just like that, it's Tuesday again. Wow. How time flies when you're writing and pimping. Here are this week's questions and my answers:

Do you prefer to write futuristic, contemporary, or historical romances and why?

I write a quirky blend of contemporary and historical. My romance books are set in the present day, but have lots of flashbacks and references to history. In The Queen of Swords, the hero and heroine have gotten involved in two of her former lives, which I show the reader through flashbacks to Regency and Edwardian times. In my forthcoming PNR series, The Knights of Avalon, each of the heroes fell in a different Scottish battle before being taken and enslaved by the queen of a colony of female faery vampires. The colony operates like a beehive and the knights are the queen's breeding drones. I weave together past and present, history and myth, and fantasy and paranormal to tell my stories. My books don't follow genre rules, in other words.

What is your favorite time in history and why does it inspire you?

I don't have a favorite time in history. All periods are full of fascinating details I delight in excavating during the research process. My discoveries often color the plot or change its direction completely. I also use descriptive writing to help my writers feel like they're there--or at least that's what many of my reviewers have said.

How has your life experience contributed to your writing?

In more ways than I'm probably aware or would care to admit if I knew. A good therapist would probably have a field day with my books! My characters tend to be loners like myself, my heroines struggle with feelings of inadequacy, my heroes are all sensitive men rather than controlling Alphas,  and my villains all have leanings toward sexual abuse. I'll let you deduce from that what you will and, as usual, I'm probably reading way more into the damned question than was intended. 

Time to head on over to Jo Richardson's blog to see what she had to say in response to these same questions.

Romance Weekly

Oh, my. Is it Tuesday already? How time flies when you pimping your book. Looks like it's time to respond to another set of probing questions on the art and craft of romance writing. Here are this week's slate:

What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever done in the name of research for a book?

Oh, dear. Blush. I hate to think what people would think if they ever saw the search history on my internet browser.  I've searched everything from torture methods to tips for giving the perfect blow job. I research everything. Myths, spells, history, clans, spells, tarot cards, ferry schedules, when the sun rises and sets in a particular place, you name it. I also spend hours driving around Scotland and England on Google maps and read reviews of places my characters visit to get a sense of how people react to the settings. You can find some of the images that inspired each of my books on Pinterest (link is at the top of the page under the masthead).

Name a nonfiction book you’ve read for research that you wouldn’t have read otherwise. Not including writing craft books.

Can I name several? One's sitting beside my laptop right now: Highland Martial Culture: The Fighting Heritage of Scotland by Christopher Scott Thompson. Great little book that includes not only the weaponry, but also the cultural aspects of martial training in days of yore, including the spells and sians they used for protection. I also bought Highland Broadsword Fighting and Lords of War to further my study of the subject. For a half-finished book I'm hoping to pick up again, I bought several books: Sea Room by Adam Nicolson (about the Shiant Islands), The Pirate Queen by Barbara Sjoholm (Orkney folk tales) , Nature and The Human Soul by Bill Plotkin, and The Fish Prince and Other Stories (Mermen folk tales). My languishing WIP, as yet untitled, is about one of the legendary Blue Man of the Minch who gets involved with an oil company spokeswoman during a mysterious spill in the Hebrides. Lots of research went into the world-building, as you can see.

If you could travel anywhere to do research for a book, including back in time, where would you go?

 

Scotland. No question. Time period? I'll have to think about that one. Not 1745 to 1780, I can tell you that much.  

Speaking of Scotland ... it's time to hop over to the blog of my good friend Kate Robbins, who writes fantastic Scottish historical romances. Take it away, Kate!

Romance Weekly

 

Welcome to my wee slice of the Romance Weekly pie.

Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

 

What ages are your characters?

Well, it depends. My immortal characters can be hundreds of years old, but usually appear to be between 35 and 45. My heroine's tend to hover in the cusp around 30. For my paranormals, anyway. In my political thriller, The Tin Man (coming August 30 from CHBB), my hero is 45 and the heroine is 38.

What special things or places inspire you to write? 

History, mythology, and things paranormal and occult are my primary inspirations. All my stories are tied in a big way to Scotland and/or Celtic myth and culture. Even in my thriller, which is set in iconic locales within the United States, the hero is an ex-pat Scot from Edinburgh.

What is the one message you hope women will receive when they read your stories? 

This one is tougher to answer. Messages? Depends on the book. All of mine have different underlying themes. In The Queen of Swords, it's to trust fate and the magic of love. In The Knight of Wands, my next paranormal, it's not to let other people make you doubt your worth; in The Tin Man, it's not to let the media fall into the hands of those who would use it to manipulate public opinion and to be a critical thinker and not buy into propaganda without questioning the source and their motive.

Time to pop over to hear what the lovely and talented Sarah Hegger has to say in reply to these same three questions. Take it away, Sarah!

Romance Weekly

 

Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly.

Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

Who is your favorite character and why?

I love them all, of course. Graham, the hero in The Queen of Swords, is both noble and funny. Callum, the hero in The Knight of Wands, is a good-hearted romantic. Leith, the hero of my WIP, is a bit on the dark side, but still well-intentioned. If pressed to pick just one, I’d have to go with Alex Buchanan, the journalist hero in The Tin Man. He’s very complex and has lots of demons to overcome, but also is a really good guy.

Do you prefer to write your hero or heroine?

My heroes, hands down. All my stories, though told from both points of view, are really about him more than her. Even when I was a kid, I used to play Ken to my sisters' Barbies. I'm sure there's some deep psychological reason for this, but I couldn't tell you why I just find men more interesting. Or maybe it's just because I'm a heterosexual woman.

What are three things you can't write without?

Google, the fifteen beats of Save the Cat plotting, and a notebook to scribble down ideas.


Now it's time to head on over to hear what Kim Handysides has to say on these subjects.

Romance Weekly

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

. . . 

 Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

How do you find the appropriate setting for the story or does it find you?

Most of my paranormals are set in Scotland, so I suppose you could say the setting finds me. I'm a nut for all things Scottish and Celtic myth, so I tend to look for different Scottish locales in which to set the books. Other settings also come into play. The Queen of Swords, for example, is set in a fictitious village in County Essex, England, called Wickenham. The hero's castle is on the Black Isle and there are flashbacks to Ireland, London, Paris, and Singapore. In The Knight of Wands, the story starts out in Caithness, the northernmost part of Scotland, then shifts to New Orleans. In book two, which I'm writing now, the story starts out in Nairn and moves to the fantasy world. I've got another work-in-progress set in the Hebrides. The only book so far not set in Scotland is The Tin Man, my political thriller, which is scheduled for release by CHBB on August 30. The hero is an ex-pat Scot, so he has memories of growing up in Edinburgh, but the book is about American liberties, so I set it in landmark places here: New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. To me, the setting is almost a character in the story and I therefore try to immerse the reader in the location. I've read several books set in Scotland that could have been set anywhere except for the clans and the castle keeps. I really try to give readers a feel for where they are in my books.

What is your system of support for writing? Family, friends, other writers? 

My family is supportive of my writing, but doesn't want to hear the minutia of my day to day struggles with putting words on the page, so I'd have to say other writers. For a while, I used a writing coach to help me hone my craft, but now I've got a wonderful critique partner who reads my stuff and tells where when it's going off the rails. I also have beta readers who react to stuff and a street team to cheer me up when I feel discouraged on the promoting end of things.

What is the worst writing advice you ever received and how did you deal with it?

I had to give this one some thought. I got a load of bad advice from one well-meaning editor: dumb down my writing to appeal to a wider audience, stop writing the book I was working on because nobody would want to read it, write to trends, consider self-publishing. In hopes of getting a contract with that particular publisher, I did simplify my next book and shelve my WIP, but it still wasn't right for them. Sigh. I'm planning to resurrect that abandoned WIP as soon as I finish the book I'm writing now.

Time to move on to the next writer in the circle to see what she has to say in response to this week's questions. So, I give you another lover of Scotland, Amy Jarecki.

Romance Weekly

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

. . .

Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

How does your writing impact your inner life?

I'm a very creative person and I believe the creative spark has a spiritual source, so I find the process of writing very transcendent. Well, perhaps not on a bad day when my muse has decided to call in sick, but on a good day, there's nothing better. I also believe the books themselves serve a purpose in the world. My characters often struggle with their beliefs about God and faith and the hereafter and I believe those struggles might resonate for my readers.Before I published The Queen of Swords, I worried that people would find the character's discussions about religion off-putting, but so far, not one person has so much as mentioned it. Go figure. Writing the book also made me reflect on my own spiritual path, which has slipped too far into the background in recent years.

How do you hope your books affect your readers? 

I strive to write the kind of books I like to read: those that entertain, edify, and enlighten to some extent. If reading one of my books makes someone stop to consider something they've never considered before, then I've succeeded.

Has anyone told you your book changed their life? How?

Not yet and I don't know that they ever will, but it would be gratifying to hear. I believe literature can change lives and while what I write isn't quite at the level of literature, I still believe it could alter someone's perspective. Even if it doesn't and they simply enjoy the ride, I'd be satisfied. The Queen of Swords, my debut novel, released on Saturday and is now available on Amazon.com. It's been getting phenomenal reviews, which pleases me no end.

Now, off you go to read what romance writer Brenda Margriet has to say in response to these questions (mine!).

Romance Weekly

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

. . .

Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

Who is your favorite author in your genre and why?

 

This one's a bit tricky because it's hard to say which genre it is I write in. I usually say my books are contemporary Scottish paranormal romances, but they also incorporate elements of urban fantasy, high fantasy, horror, and erotic romance. Still, I'd have to say my hands-down favorite is Diana Gabaldon. Not just in my genre but among all genres. Her books transport me to another time and world, make me feel her characters deeply enough to cheer and cry for them, and the poetry of her prose makes me green with envy. What can I say? She's enormously gifted. Why else would I have read all of her books in the Outlander series? Have you seen her books? They're enormous and I'm a slow reader who lives to savor every delicious word.

What is your favorite book by them and why?

Oh, this is a tough one. I loved them all for different reasons. Outlander, Voyager, Dragonfly in Amber, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone. I loved Clare and Jamie's time in France with all the court intrigues while trying to stop Culloden from happening, loved their time on Fraser Ridge, loved their adventures in the American Revolution. Such amazing stuff, all. I guess, if forced to choose, I'd have to pick the first one: Outlander. Two fellow writers recommended that I read it and, when I finally did, I was hooked from the very first sentence.

What about their style inspires your writing?

 

What doesn't? I feel her writing raises her romances to the level of literature. I work hard at improving my writing and making it beautiful, but I certainly wouldn't categorize it as literary. Though, two reviewers of my forthcoming book (The Queen of Swords, my debut novel, is out in just four more days!) have called the writing "beautiful," "lyrical," and "as fluid as honey." That's not bad, right? I've always been my own worst critic and probably always will be. Diana writes pages and pages of gorgeous descriptive prose and my editors tell me to cut mine because people just skim over it. Really? What a shame. I love gorgeous writing that sets a scene, but try not to go overboard and bore the reader.

Okay. That's my monologue for this week. Let's go see who inspires Katie O'Connor and all the other talented writers in our weekly circle.

Romance Weekly

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

. . .

Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

When someone finds out you're an author, how do you handle the statement, "I have a story you should write"?

Oh, dear. I wish I could say I've never heard this, but it seems to me I have. How do I react? Well, I probably take on an expression similar to a deer in headlights, then stammer something unintelligible, and either get the hell away from the person or abruptly change the subject. If the person has a story, they should write it. I'm not a newspaper reporter. I write my own stories based on the characters who come to me and the things I feel deeply.

Do you write what you read?

Not really, but only because I don't have the ability. My first love is literary fiction and classic literature. Literary fiction is all about the writing and I think my writing style and voice are better suited to genre fiction. On the other hand, I do write some of the genre fiction I read, but that's really in reverse. I started reading the genres in which I write (Scottish and paranormal romance) AFTER I started writing it, to better acquaint myself with those genres.

People often mistake the lifestyle of a writer as glamorous. Give us the scoop, what about your lifestyle would shock your readers?

Where to begin? For one thing, I'm dirt poor. My first book will release in 11 more days and I've been told not to expect to make much money until I've got five or six books out there. I write at a tiny secretary in a tiny room in a tiny cottage in North Georgia. My house isn't as clean as I'd like it to be because when faced with the choice between cleaning and writing, I choose writing more often then not. To feed my family, I buy the cheapest cuts of meat I can find and make them last for two or three meals. Not very glamorous, is it? So, please think about this when you share a book. Except for the millionaire bestsellers like Stephenie Meyer, we make a pittance. So please buy our books. :)

. . . 

Thanks for stopping by. Now, go on to see what Victoria Barbour has to say in response to the same three questions. For a real treat, follow the whole circle around and see what all the romance writers in this group have to say. It's usually quite entertaining and eye-opening.

Romance Weekly

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

. . .

Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

Do you have recurring themes in your work, either intentional or unintentional?

 

Yes. Absolutely. Intentionally. My romances reflect on the power of love to heal and redeem lost souls. They also touch on some of my deep pet peeves:  the raping of the environment for personal gain, the hypocrisy of humanity, Scotland's long and bloody struggle for independence, the meaning of honesty and freedom, and the belief in a higher power that's loving and forgiving rather than stern and judgmental. And you thought they were just steamy romances, right?

Do you carefully plot your stories or do you plot as you write? Why do you think this particular ethos works for you?

 

Let's just say, the more I learn about plotting the more plotting I do. Writing novels is hard work. Writing good ones is even harder. Good novels tend to follow arcs and have beats where key things happen as those arcs unfold. I usually start out by writing character sketches, including making index cards for their goals, motivations, and conflicts. Then, I try to map out scenes in a line or two that demonstrate these things while following the maps provided by The Hero's Journey and/or Save the Cat. Even when I do all this at the outset, the story takes on a life of its own (if I'm lucky), the characters act against the attributes I've assigned them, and new and better ideas occur at junctures that require massive rewrites and replotting. Even when I have all the elements figured out, once I start writing, it can turn into a bunch of trees with no forest in sight. That's when I summon my excellent critique partner, Sarah Hegger. She's got a knack for recognizing an arc gone bad and helps get me back on track. Thanks Sarah! As to the second part of the question, well, I'm a person who needs tools and maps to help my muse find her way. The more tools I have and the more things make sense, the easier it is to move forward.

Is there a particular genre (within romance) you could never write? Why?

 

There are several, all of them very popular right now. Small town, military, inspirational as it's currently defined. Navy Seal heroes are not my thing. In fact, uber-controlling Alpha-male heroes are not my thing. My heroes are the kind of men I wish there were more of, not the kind I find controlling and macho. I could never love that kind of man and neither could my heroines. I like to play with stereotype reversals in my work. In The Knight of Wands, my next book, the heroine is the one who fears commitment while the hero falls in love at first sight and must fight his possessive nature at every turn to pursue her in a way that will convince her he's not out to steal her freedom. Let me flip the question. What particular genre would I write but am not writing now? Historicals, specifically Scottish historicals. I love history, especially Scottish history, and have studied the history of fashion and costuming for my dollmaking. I think I could write great historicals. I just need a fresh idea and one hasn't occurred to me yet. First, though, I need to finish the novels I've already got planned: Book Two in The Knights of Avalon series, which I'm about three-quarters through; a book I'm about halfway through about a merman who gets caught in an oil spill; and the last two books in The Knights series (The Knight of Pentacles and The Knight of Swords, respectively). I'd also like to do a follow-up to my thriller releasing on August 30, my first non-paranormal dealing with the threats to our freedoms imposed by runaway media monopolies.


Okay. That's it for me this week. Now it's time to move around the circle and see what my fellow romance authors have to say about these same questions. Next stop is LaNora Mangano.

Romance Weekly

"Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions in the comment box."

. . .

Welcome to my wee slice of Romance Weekly. Here are my responses to this week's jackpot questions:

 

What is your writing process like?

Truthfully, it's organized chaos.  It also changes with each book because I evolve as a writer with each book. I'm still very much in learning mode as an author of fiction. I've been a writer all my life, and an avid reader of novels, but those don't necessarily translate whole-cloth to the craft of fiction-writing. At present, my process starts with a rough idea. I sit down with index cards and try to work out the goals, motivations, and conflicts for the central characters and a rough idea of plot. I then try to rough out a map of the scenes. Once I start writing, things tend to change. New ideas come to me or I find something didn't work and needs to be rethought. Now, thankfully, I have a wonderful critique partner in Sarah Hegger, who busts my buns when my characters behave inconsistently or my writing doesn't delve deep enough into POV. She sees the forest when I'm lost in the trees and it's enormously helpful! Thanks Sarah, for all your help.

Do you listen to music to enhance your writing?

The short answer is, I don't. Well, I did listen to some Scottish Christmas music (you haven't lived until you've heard traditional caroles on the bagpipe, lol) in the background while I was writing during the holidays, but nothing specifically to inspire my creative muse. I prefer silence when I write. I am, however, deeply moved by music in general. I play the viola (badly and hardly ever anymore) and was a freelance rock journalist once upon a time. Perhaps I should listen to music next time I get stuck for a scene idea. 

What two songs best describe your overall body of work?

At this point in time, my "body of work" consists of three completed manuscripts (under contract but not yet published) and two works in progress. All but one are paranormal romances. The other is a political thriller. When I asked my one beta reader who's read all of my finished books if she saw a common thread among them, she said, yes, all my characters have demons to fight. Not real demons, mind, but the internal kind that get in our way. So, for that reason, I'd have to choose  "Demons" by Imagine Dragons. For the second song, I'd pick either "Losing My Religion" by REM or one of three by The Police: "Every Little Thing She Does," "Every Breath You Take," or "King of Pain." Yeah, my characters suffer a lot of angst. Can't imagine where they get that from, lol.

. . . 

Now, enough about me. Time to head around the circle and see what my fellow romance authors have to say in response to the same three questions, starting with Carrie Elks.