"My Writing Process" Blog Tour

There's this blog tour going around right now and it's all about the writing process. I've been tagged to share the ins and outs of my particular process and I will, in turn, tag a few others to participate. There are four questions involved and I will do my best to answer them. 

Before I get into the questions, however, I should mention who decided to include me in this fascinating tour. The talented and always delightful Anna Katmore (who was known as Piper Shelly when I met her, lol) tagged me. I met Anna at the 2013 Romance Novel Convention in Las Vegas, NV. We had a lot of fun. More recently, I helped bring to life the cover for her upcoming release Neverland. That was a true pleasure and I'm thrilled that we'll be working together on the sequel's cover as well.

Now for those questions...

1. What am I working on? 

I'm always working on several things at once, but my current inspiration involves the serial Regency I'm writing for InD'tale Magazine, Death Becomes Her. Here's the little blurby thing about it: 

Melly lives in darkness, stealing bodies by moonlight to support her sisters and herself. Coming face-to-face with a new doctor, one who doesn't view the resurrectionists with quite the same acceptance as his predecessor, she must decide what is best for her family—a family who desires to choose for themselves.

Part 1 appeared in the June 2013 edition of InD'tale and the final installment will be in the June/July 2014 edition. Subscribers can go back through and read every installment by accessing the magazine archive. Subscriptions are currently free. (hint, hint) 

That said, I'm also working on a short story called Samantha's Sin that is related. I plan to release it with the compiled edition of DBH. A tentative release date is set for early August 2014.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

I write traditional Regency romance: romantic stories set in early 1800s Britain with no sexually explicit details. Seems simple and rather common, right? 

The romance isn't always the main theme in my books. It's a major one, sure, but there's always something else going on that ends long after the romantic thread is tied, not always, but quite often. While I do leave out the sexual details, thus qualifying my books as "clean" or traditional romance, I often touch on certain subjects that are not sweet, and certainly not for young readers. Thus the reason I never refer to my books as "sweet" romance. 

3. Why do I write what I write? 

I enjoy a fluffy, sweet, positive romance, I really do, and I'm glad there are so many authors out there writing them. BUT...

I was tired of "clean" romances being nothing but fluff. I wanted romances that included some reality, especially of a time period that is often portrayed as idealistic, but I really didn't want to read the graphic sexual details. So I write dark and edgy Regency romance in the traditional style, stories with some grit, sometimes disturbing, but always with a "happy" ending. (Anyone who reads my books will see some recurring characters, and while those characters got their happily-ever-after in their own stories, their appearance in another story may not be so happy.) 

4. How does my writing process work? 

Most of my books started with a character. A face and name popped into my head and the character just took shape. Some started with a scene and a fairly clear character in mind. Some started with an idea based on a book I'd recently read. (For example, my book Honor was written because of how angry I got at someone else's book. I wanted something more realistic, something that made sense to me.) Some stories started with a title and one in particular (My Lady Coward) was initially inspired by a song. (Subsequent parts of that story were inspired by writing prompts from Clever Fiction, a site for readers and writers of short fiction.) So inspiration varies for me.  

After the initial idea blossoms, I "pants" it. I write until inspiration leaves me and then I work on another story. I have folders of character bios and story ideas, handwritten scenes that may or may not make it into a final product, and research tidbits on specific aspects of the Regency. I try to write down anything that pops into my mind, then add that note to the proper folder for that book. It sounds organized, but it's really not. lol

At the moment I have over a dozen manuscripts started. Some will be finished and some will not. The ones that don't receive their ending are ones I view as practice of a sort. While I'd love to make every story in my head come to vivid life, time is not on my side. 

And now I'm supposed to tag a few more writers to take part in this tour. Their articles will be posted on their blogs or sites April 7. ☺ 

Rachel Rossano ~

Rachel's one of my favorite authors, one who lets me beta read her books and who beta reads mine in turn. I guess that sort of makes us critique partners, though we've never put a label on our authorly relationship. Her stories are mostly medieval romance set in a totally made-up world, aka medieval fantasy. And they are EXCELLENT! Her talents extend into book cover design too. 

Linda Boulanger ~ 

Linda's my bestie and has been since we met online a few years ago. Our friendship started after she read one of my short stories and offered to publish me. It was a fabulous beginning to an indescribable friendship. We met in real life for the first time last year. She's a great author whose mind positively thrives on the happily-ever-after of romance. Book cover design is also a passion of hers.  

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing

♫♪ Sixx: A.M. ~ Life is Beautiful