My Writing Process Blog Hop

Over a week ago I found a message in my Facebook inbox from Susan Holmes tagging me to participate in the My Writing Process Blog Hop. Thanks for invite Susan! This hop is a great way to discover some new authors and find out how they write.

Each Monday, authors blog about their writing process, tagging three more authors to blog the next week. It's like a chain letter without the threat of bad luck if you break the chain. I must say I like this version much better! So let's get to it...

What am I working on?

I am about half way through writing Ragan's Song, book two in my Fairfield Corners series. It's a paranormal romance with a twist of suspense telling the story of Ragan Newlin and Adam Bricklin who were introduced in Saving Cassie.

Ragan's Song picks up about three years after the end of Saving Cassie. Ragan Newlin has returned home to Fairfield Corners after disappearing in the middle of the night three years ago. No one knows why and Ragan wants to keep it that way - no one can know the real reason she left. Adam was devastated when Ragan left and has just started to move on from the heartbreak she caused him when she crashes back into his life. Sparks fly and secrets are revealed.

How does my work differ from others of it's genre?

In most paranormal romances one of the main characters is a paranormal being - vampire, werewolf, etc. My books are paranormal but they are about normal humans who are dealing with paranormal happenings. For example, in Saving Cassie, Logan and Cassie deal with dreams, nightmares, ghosts, and demons but they are human.

My second book, Invisible, is a romantic suspense. No paranormal in this one, just a love story about two teenagers ripped apart by a violent act who reconnect ten years later. It explores how that event changed both of their lives and brought them together again.

Why do I write what I do?

I write romance because I love a happily ever after ending. I'm a sucker for a good love story so it makes sense that I would write romance. I have always been intrigued by the paranormal, I love Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Being Human, pretty much any paranormal series will drag me in. Writing paranormal romance combines my love of romance and the paranormal. It's a natural fit for me.

How does my writing process work?

I start off with "what if". It could be inspired by a song, television show, or just a random comment. Saving Cassie was inspired by a Bryan Adams song. Invisible was inspired by my feelings of being invisible during high school. I started thinking about what if someone wanted to be invisible and why and it just grew from there.

Music plays a large roll in my writing process, I always have music playing while I write, it helps me block out the rest of the world and concentrate on the world in my head that is trying to come out through my keyboard. I carry a notebook with me all the times, I get ideas for stories or plot lines while I am working my real world job. Sometimes, I even dream about my characters.

Most days I can be found at my laptop after work, plugging away at whatever writing project I am working on. It's not always a linear process, I may get half way through a story and get a brainstorm about the end and then I go back and figure out how to get my characters there.. I've learned to write what my muse tells me, ignoring it gets nothing accomplished.

As my story moves along, I send it to my Alpha reader who nags me until I get the entire story written. I am happy to say that I have been able to return the nagging as she works on a story she started some time ago. Then, it's time for the dreaded editing process.

Let's keep on hopping!

It's been fun and I hope you enjoyed this look at how I write.

Check out the post from Susan Holmes last week. Jerry Last, Renea Porter, and Kerry Firth are up next week - be sure to go check out their posts on March 17!

Happy reading!