My Writing Process (A Blog Hop)

I’ve been tagged!  Tagged, that is, to participate in a blog hop for writers. My thanks to Susan Holmes and Dorrana Durgin for inviting me to play along!

Every Monday, authors blog about their own writing process using a standard format and answering the same questions. Follow the links to “meet” more writers.

What am I working on?

My regular readers already know that I’m about to release the fifth book of The Gatekeeper’s Saga—about a teenager’s adventures as her life becomes more and more entangled with the gods of Olympus after one of them falls in love with her. We have been celebrating on Facebook all week and will start another big party here on release day, April 1st! Please come join us!

The final Gatekeeper’s book will be released on October 1st. (That makes me kind of sad, actually–but no worries, I have something special to announce after the saga ends!)

Meanwhile, the sequel to my young adult suspense, The Purgatorium, has had my fingers burning at the keyboard late at night. Gray’s Domain continues the story of seventeen-year-old Daphne, whose parents have sent her to an island resort for “therapy” after she attempted suicide.  Victimized and “cured” by Dr. Hortense Gray and her staff using Daphne’s “fear profile,” Daphne now gets to have her revenge on her parents and boyfriend as she helps with their “therapy.” (I’m going a little wild with the quotation marks–but hey, you only live once.) As Daphne learns more and more about the doctor’s methods, however, she convinces her family and Brock to run for their lives.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

You tell me! I can say that I’m conscious of the stories within my stories, and I’m a bit obsessed with the idea that stories are the most important things in life (besides family and friends and maybe–still not sure–food and water). Stories save lives. Along with that theme is the notion that all life is important. I really want that to come through.

At the very center of each of my stories is a woman fighting a battle. Sometimes it happens to be a literal battle, but even then, there are figurative ones. Always.

(Okay, now I’m getting wild with italics.)

Why do I write what I do?

I love Greek mythology, I love romance and adventure, and I love being shocked by plot twists. I also love becoming so attached to characters that I don’t ever want to leave their company. And so I write the kind of stories I want to read.

How does my writing process work?

It starts with the spark of an idea. Then I do lots of research (which I love!). After that, I create a rough and somewhat vague outline. I make up all sorts of unexpected things along the way. A lot of times, food is involved. And sleep. Seriously! When I get stuck, I lie down and get into a dreamlike state, and voila!

Keep on Hopping!

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out author Doranna Durgin’s post from last week. And on March 31st, look for a new blog hop post by author Lila Felix.