Writing Process Blog Hop
When the lovely Maggie Le Page tagged me to take part in the Writing Process Blog Chain, I was all:
I mean, doesn’t just the word “chain” set you off in a nasty full-body shudder? Maybe only if you’re old enough to remember those dreadful chain letters, or chain e-mails if you’re a bit younger. But finally I succombed, because Maggie Le Page is really cool, and it did sound kind of fun talking about the madness which is my writing process.
You can check out more about Maggie Le Page (who as I’ve said, is super-cool) at her website www.maggielepage.com or find her on Facebook.
Maggie Le Page is a mum, tutor, accounts manager, freelance writer and novelist – in other words, an excellent juggler. She holds an Honours degree in Economics so is also extremely well-qualified to tut-tut about the size of her bank overdraft. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with her partner of fifteen years and their two children.
“A Heat Of The Moment Thing” is her debut novel and she is currently working on her second, “Waiting For Faith”.
Here are the answers to the four Writing Process questions:
1) What am I working on?
I’m writing the first draft of READY TO BURN which is the third book in the Due South Series. I’m also editing the second book of the series, MELTING INTO YOU. I’m planning to release MELTING INTO YOU within the next few months. Both books, and the first in the series IN TOO DEEP are set on the wild and windswept Stewart Island at the bottom of New Zealand.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I think my stories have a certain freshness to them, a unique viewpoint and voice that’s part of being a Kiwi (New Zealander). As well as a hot romance (because the books are first and foremost romances), there are strong themes of family, friendship and community woven through their hearts. There’s guaranteed to be a Happily-Ever-After, which is no different to other romances (one of the things I happen to love about the genre) but I hope my readers experience both laugh and tears while lost in the pages of my book. I also hope they’re given a word picture of the beauty of New Zealand which stays with them forever.
3) Why do I write what I do?
I’ve always loved fairy-tales and progressing to romance was only a small step in a logical direction. We don’t always get a Happily-Ever-After in our own lives—bad things happening to good people are a reality of the world we live in. But in the worlds I create, while the path to find love is often dotted with potholes and sharp rocks, love finds and transforms my characters in the end. That gives me hope. And I’d like to think it gives my readers hope too.
4) How does my writing process work?
My writing process is a work in progress! You may have heard of the terms ‘plotter’ and ‘pantser’? Writers who ‘plot’ out their stories before they begin, or writers who start with a very basic idea or character and make up the story as the go (writing by the seat of their *pants*). I’m somewhere in the middle. I usually have the key scenes in mind before I start, with a few ‘Ooh, that’d be cool’ ideas to toss around. I tend to plot a little, pantser a little, freak out that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, pantser a little more, get stuck, have an eureka moment at in inappropriate time/place which requires frantic scribbling in a notebook that I carry everywhere, plot some more, moan to my patient husband that I’m never going to finish this book and I just want my hero and heroine to be eaten by one of Stewart Island’s Great White Sharks, have another brilliant idea which turns out to suck until I get smacked upside the head by an even better idea at three in the morning, madly finish the first draft, swear I’ll never write a book this way again, wildly celebrate until the euphoria wears off and I realise I now have to edit this mass of 90,000 plus words. Craziness re-ensues.
Now I’m passing the buck to 3 amazing writers, Laura Brown, Amber A. Bardan and Lizzi Tremayne. Check out their blogs next week (3rd March) to see how their writing process works! 
Tracey
Laura Brown
Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Laura and her three cats are “differently abled.” Laura is hard of hearing, her oldest cat is deaf and partially blind, and the other two cats have cerebellar hyplasia (they shake, and they don’t find it endearing). The “normal” members of her family include her husband, who has put up with her since high school, and her young son who enjoys “typing” on Mommy’s laptop and has agreed to take full blame for all spelling errors.
Laura’s first book, ‘Lila’s Choice’ is available as a paperback or e-book. Her mini blurb: A visit from a childhood friend thrusts Lila’s calm world into turmoil, as emotions buried deep inside are dragged to the surface. A scheme is initiated, forcing her to choose between two men.
Click here to buy Lila’s Choice
on Amazon.
You can visit Laura at her website or find her on Facebook.
Amber A. Bardan
WINNER of NTRWA ‘Great Expectations’ Award 2013
2nd Place Winner Charter Oak RWA ‘Golden Oak’ Award 2013
2nd Place Winner GSRWA 2013 Emerald City Opener Contest
After spending years imagining fictional adventures, Amber finally found a way to turn daydreaming into a productive habit. She now spends her days as a graphic designer but her nights writing scintillating tales about heroes with tough exteriors who are warm inside. She lives with her husband and children in semi-rural Australia, where if she peers outside at the right moment she might just see a kangaroo bounce by.
Lizzi Tremayne
Lizzi has just completed her first novel, Express Desired, an Historical Fictional Suspense with Romantic Elements, and is halfway finished with its sequel, A Sea of Green Unfolding. Lizzi says she is rewriting her life. She is the mother of two teenaged boys, a part time hobby farmer, a medieval re-enactor (fencer and horseback archer), a kayaker, a carriage competition driver, a gardener, a singer, a cook and an equine veterinarian with post-doc veterinary certification in equine dentistry. Following an injury, she works part time at equine veterinary dentistry and part time at high school teaching of Science/Bio/Chem. Mostly, though, she’s writing!
You can find more out about Lizzi on her website here. She’d love to hear from you about her writing! She can be contacted via her FB page, Twitter, or About Me. Her veterinary site is here.
