I’m a little – okay, a lot – late in posting this, but below you’ll find out a little bit about my writing process. Before I go there, I wanted to thank my friend and writing mentor Denny S. Bryce who tagged me on this blog tour journey. You can read her thoughts about her own writing process by clicking here. (Thanks for tagging me, Denny!)

What Am I Working On?

As some of you know, I completed a 180,000 words web serial last fall called Starstruck. Since December, I’ve been in the process of carving into that work to extract two or three novels. (Likely three.)

It hasn’t been easy slicing and dicing. Since this is my first real undertaking in the world of publishing, etc, I’m making a lot of rookie mistakes. Fortunately, I have some good friends – both published and non-published – to give me sound advice.

In addition to Starstruck and its sequels, I have outlines for more books in that series (Falling Stars) as well as two other series and some stand-alones. The ideas are there, I just need to get over the enormous hurdle of finishing this first project.

How Does My Book Differ from Others in the Genre?

I found out quickly that the premise of Starstruck doesn’t sit well with a number of romance readers/editors. The idea of a failing marriage isn’t romantic, per se, but the story is about second chances. There’s a lot of hope that it’s never too late to find your true love. In my other works, I stick more closely to what romance readers have come to expect, but in my own way. In other words, I’m a trope-tripper. I like to mix it up.

Why Do I Write What I do?

It’s simple: I am in love with love. I adore everything from the initial butterflies to the smoldering kisses to the morning-after glow. I always try to keep my stories grounded in realism, though. Not that I have anything against a good fairy tale, I just think that other people write them way better than I ever could. I do write the ‘happily ever afters’, but I usually go through a number of ‘happy for nows’ before I get there. I mean, let’s face it, most of us stumble on the way to our destinies. It’s only human.

How Does My Writing Process Work?

Apparently, I’m what they call a “hybrid”, a cross between a “pantser” and a “planner”. A pantser is someone who sits down and just lets the story take them wherever it wants to go. I confess to it doing that more often than not, though I also utilize the trusty old outline; particularly for my longer series. That’s the planner side of me, so yeah…hybrid.

I also employ the series bible. It helps to keep everything straight when I start introducing new characters to my universes or get mugged by an unexpected plot twist. Yeah, my characters like to keep me on my toes. They’re just as real to me as my husband and my friends. They often chat to me – and to one another – in my head or on the page. Some of them even have their own Twitter accounts and can get pretty active.

As far as inspiration, ideas come to me from the strangest places. In my other life, I work in music. I’ll often get an idea from listening to (or writing) a song. Other times, I might overhear a snippet of a conversation and see a story in it. Quite often a line from another book will grab me, or one from a poem, a film or a TV show.  It could even be a piece of art. The creativity of others inspires me, but even every day life can bring me a eureka moment. The news is also a great source.

So that’s me, in a nutshell. I’m still new to all of this, so I’m learning as I go. So far, it’s been a fun ride!