My writing process and my next release, "To Love Free" ...

I was recently tagged by Clare Ashton for the "Writing Process Blog Tour." I fell in love with Tig's writing with her debut novel, Pennance. She continued enthralling readers with the Goldie award-winning After Mrs Hamilton. Her latest release is That Certain Something . If you haven't read the book yet, you're in for a real treat. While Pennance was a darker romance and After Mrs Hamilton was more mysterious with a nice dose of erotic romance, That Certain Something is a fun, romantic comedy that will make you laugh and tug on your heartstrings.  And apparently I'm not the only one who was anxiously awaiting Tig's latest release. That Certain Something is at the top of Amazon's Lesbian Romance charts in both the US and UK... as it should be! Please read about her writing process in her answers to the blog tour.

We've been given four questions to answer about our process and our work. So, here I go!

1.  What am I working on?

Last night, I finished writing the final pages of my latest romance, To Love Free. Now, it's on to the hard work of editing, polishing, editing, and more polishing before I read it out loud to Phyllis to get her invaluable feedback. After that, I send it on to my publisher Emily Reed at Blue Feather Books. I'll also have some author buddies look it over and offer suggestions. It's scheduled for release this summer.

To Love Free has an intriguing storyline. One of the main characters, Madison Lorraine, is a renowned artist who lost her Muse when her wife Callie died of cancer over three years ago. Madison lives in Islamorada, located in the Upper Keys of Florida, with her nine-year-old daughter, Montanna ("Mo"). Enter a precocious dolphin who appears one morning in their cove. The leader of his pod has given him the quest to bring joy and love back into Madison's life. They arrive in the person of Gabrielle Valenci, a supermodel, who moves into her family vacation home next door. She's in Florida to finish her last treatments for uterine cancer and to recuperate--away from New York City and away from a failed relationship. Madison is instantly drawn to her but is hesitant to get involved because Gabrielle's battle with cancer is a reminder of who she lost three years before. There are a cast of secondary characters, the strongest being Mo and Cyndra, Madison's sister. Some old friends from Come Back to Me make a reappearance. All try to play matchmaker for Madison and Gabrielle, but none can compete with the antics of the dolphin they've named "Free."

It's been quite a journey writing this one. But I hope I've written an uplifting story that will touch readers' hearts. And although I just finished typing "THE END" last night, I already miss Free.

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

This is a question I think readers can answer better than I. With each book, I try to write from my heart... to write about what I know, sometimes experiences that I've had. In my writing, I sprinkle humor in the dialogue because I believe humor makes living so much easier. With Playing for First and Two for the Show, I wrote about my passion for baseball and my belief that a woman could one day make it to "The Show." Come Back to Me had a main character in Angie Cantinnini who was a published author. Meryl McClain in that story suffered through and, in adulthood, came to grips with the same trauma I had experienced as a child, which is why that book is so personal to me. Survived by Her Longtime Companion touched on my love of Hollywood and, in particular, old black and white movies. In my last release, And a Time to Dance, I was able to revisit one of my favorite places in the world... Grand Lake, Colorado. And in To Love Free, I wrote about cancer, cancer treatment, and cancer survival because of my partner Phyllis's surgery and subsequent cancer treatment and my late father's battle with lung cancer. In To Love Free, I wanted to write about the strength of the human spirit to overcome and triumph, the hope and promise of tomorrow, and the mystical powers of a certain dolphin.

3.  Why do I write what I do?

I write what I do so readers can get lost in an enjoyable story that hopefully will stay with them after they close the book (or turn off the e-reader!). I hope even as they finish reading the last word of the book, they'll want to revisit the story. I also write what I do because it's my passion. I think most authors would agree.

4.  How does my writing process work?

I start with an idea which usually comes to me out of the blue--it can be while I'm in the shower, driving to work, listening to a song, having a conversation with Phyllis over dinner... Once I have an idea, I start thinking about how to build a story around it--about characters, their lives, their issues, the major conflict they face. I think about setting because sometimes the setting is a character all on its own. This was definitely the case with my description of the Rocky Mountains and the town of Grand Lake in And a Time to Dance. Typically, once I have the story in mind, I immediately focus on the opening scene and not too long after that, the closing scene. Then I think about the scenes in between the first chapter and the last. That is the only time I jot down a very loose outline, more like bullet points of each major scene. And I proceed to write from scene to scene. Usually, when writing, another scene will pop up and I'll add it to the story. If pieces of dialogue spring into my head, I'll jot those down. Often, they're funny lines I don't want to forget. For example, in And a Time to Dance, it was Tess saying to Erin, "And what about you, Ms. Samsonite?" when Erin said she was afraid of Corey's "baggage." I typically write until I feel I need to go back and read the beginning to refresh my mind. With To Love Free, I haven't gone back to read it since I reached 25,000 words. Right now, it is at 80,500 words, but I know I have a LOT of self editing to do before I send it to Em and Nann Dunne, my editor. Rarely does a book remain at the same amount of words as when I initially finished it. Sometimes it dips a few thousand words, other times it increases, as was the case with Survived by Her Longtime Companion. I edit out a lot of words in my initial read-through. When Nann performs her first edit, she will inevitably find places where the story needs strengthening, which is when the book may jump a few thousand words.

That's my writing process in a nutshell! I already have another book in mind, but before I get to that one, I owe the fans of the Playing for First series the next book, From Third to Home. I apologize to those who've asked me about the book and when it'll be out. It will get done! I have about 25,000 words written so far, but I've had a hard time going back to it. I associate the series with my dad because he loved baseball so much, and he loved the story. Once I get past that hurdle, I'll finish the book. From Third to Home will hopefully be out by the first pitch of Spring 2015. I want to honor my father's memory by finishing the book. He wouldn't want it any other way.

Next week ...

I've "tagged" a fantastic author to answer these questions, an author I'm proud to call a friend:

C.P. Rowlands
Cathy and I became friends when she first wrote me about Playing for First. We both love baseball, albeit we're fans of different teams--hers, the Milwaukee Brewers, mine, my beloved Cincinnati Reds. However, we do cheer for the other's team when the Brewers and Reds aren't playing each other. I loved Cathy's first book, Lake Effect Snow. It was a taut suspense with a very nice romance. Then, I fell in love with the characters of her romance, Collision Course, and what they each had to overcome. Her last novel, Jacob's War, was shortlisted for a 2013 Lambda Literary Award in the Mystery category. It's an excellent book with rich characters in ATF Special Agent Allison ("AJ") Jacob and small business owner Katie Blackburn. I'm glad Jacob's War is the first in the series because I can't wait to see what AJ and Katie have been up to. I believe Cathy has a romance coming out before the sequel to Jacob's War, but I'll let her fill you in on the details.