My Writing Process

This post is part of an author blog tour about the writing process. Thanks, Elena Dillon, for tagging me in this blog tour!

What am I working on now?

There is lots going on. Book six in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain series, Wilder than the Rest, and book three in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain contemporary series, One More Day, are in the editing process.

My new series, Redemption Mountain, is officially in progress. It takes place in the mid-1800s. The books will be historical western romances and I’m very excited to finally get these stories on paper my readers.

Another historical western romance series is planned for 2015. I am very busy!

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

Readers tell me my writing is character focused, meaning that the reader gets to know and connect with the main characters as well as sub-characters. There is a feeling of “I know them,” which is very satisfying.

Most of my writing is within a series, so a sense of connection with characters is important to drive the stories from one book to another.

Another difference is the action and adventure associated with my books. My stories are romance, yet there is much more to the stories than boy meets girl, then they fall in love. At times readers will find equal parts of romance and action in my stories. For me, this combination moves the story along more quickly than with many other romance books. I have quite a number of male readers and I believe my stories appeal to them due to the fast-paced style.

Why do I write what I do?

My major in college started out as American History. Through the years the major changed, but my love of historical America did not. My favorite period has always been 1765 through 1890, and it is within this time span that my historicals are based. Although I enjoy writing contemporary romance with hints of romantic suspense, my heart is always drawn back to historicals.

How does my writing process work?

Ideas come from everywhere—dreams, people watching, other stories. For me, they mainly just pop into my head. I jot down every story idea, not ignoring any thought as I never know when a theme will develop into a full novel.

I use spiral bound notebooks for each series and one for each story within a series. These are used to outline basic story ideas, record character names, ages, locations, and themes. At some point all this is transferred onto spreadsheets. These ‘tools’ are used as the basis for each story.

The difficult part of the process is getting the uninterrupted time to write. It’s hard to write every day. That’s my goal and some days I write 4000 – 5000 words, while others I stall at 1000. The important thing for me is to make time to write each day.

I’d love to hear your comments and questions.

Next up on the blog tour for authors: Carmen DeSousa

A romantic-suspense writer, Carmen writes novels that overflow with romance, mystery, suspense, and sometimes a hint of paranormal. And, of course—tragedy—after all, what would a great story be without a heartrending event setting the stage?

You can check out Carmen’s post on May 12 at: http://www.carmendesousa.com/