Learning...

You're never too old to learn something new, especially when you're a writer. Recently I learned about an opportunity to take a thirty-day class called Romance In A Month led by romance author Rachelle Ayala. The goal of the class is to write a romance in thirty days.

That's right -- 30 days! It's not expected that participants will have a finished manuscript in that time, but this class works like NaNoWriMo. The goal is to get your entire book plotted out and get as many thoughts onto paper as possible. I decided to take this class because I write so slowly. Even though I have the ideas in my head, getting them out in an understandable manner is a painstaking process for me. To be able to write the first draft in a short amount of time would be a dream come true.

So far I'm loving the class, and I'm using it to work on the third book in my Stafford Brothers series, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough .


Prior to the class start date, Rachelle posted exercises to help participants think about their characters and story line. Don't Stop is a combination of two romance tropes: Taming the Bad Boy and Forbidden Love. These exercises were so helpful in pinning down just who Greg Stafford is. 
                                                     
I know his brothers well, but he's only made cameo appearances in the first two books in the series. It also helped me pin down who his love interest would be.
 
(Yes, soap opera fans, this is Charles Divins and Brook Kerr from Passions. Gorgeous couple!)
Most authors work in a vacuum, but sometimes it's a blessing to get help. So, until June 15th, I'll be working on Greg and Rhani's story. And during that time I'll also have the release of Book Two in the series, Till You Come Back to Me .