Big Easy Blog Hop

                                         

I'm participating in the Big Easy Blog Hop today thanks to Shirley McCann. http://shirleymccann.blogspot.com/

I'll answer four questions. I was supposed to get three other authors to participate, but most of my writing friends had already done this. So instead, at the end, look for links to blogs I enjoy and don't forget to check out Shirley's blog. Here goes.

What am I working on?

I just finished edits on my debut novel Beyond The Horizon coming out June 27th from Breathless Press. So now I actually have time to get back to my new novel. The working title is Coming Home. It's about a woman returning to the small town she grew up in after her mother's death. She's been gone ten years, but she discovers some things never change including the heat between her and her ex high school sweetheart.

How does your writing differ from others?

That's a hard one. I don't think any two writers are alike. Everyone has their own voice. We all have our favorite authors.You can attempt to write in the genre and style of Janet Evanovich or Stephen King, but it will be different because it's your voice, not theirs.

Why do I write what I do?

I don't do paranormal or erotic which seem to be the hot sellers right now. I guess I'm more old school. Romance with some suspense and a happily ever after ending. That's what I enjoy reading. I believe if you try to write what's popular and it's not what you're into, people can tell, and you will fail. I just want to tell two people's love story.

What is your writing process?

I work full time at a stressful, demanding job that leaves me pretty tired at the end of the day. My writing happens mostly on weekends, unless I get a burst of energy and inspiration mid-week. I'm a pantser - in other words - no plot and no plan. I just write the first draft straight through letting the characters and setting speak to me. And then I revise and revise and revise. I enjoy the revision process. It's kind of like polishing a raw diamond. At the end, you hope you get a shiny piece that people will want to buy.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure and check out these other blogs:

http://havenovelwilledit.blogspot.com/

http://sherivelarde.weebly.com/books-and-more-blog/welcome-breathless-press-author-h-k-sterling

http://www.ptierneyjames.blogspot.com/

FRIDAY STIR FRY - This and That and The Other Thing

http://www.stockvault.net/photo/121438/

Still patiently waiting on line edits. In the meantime, here are just a few random thoughts that Maxine and I came up with.

Why are people in the West so afraid of tornadoes? Heck I'd be more afraid of those damn fires. At least with a tornado, you can hunker down in your home and have a fighting chance. With a fire licking your ass, not so much. And mud in this part of the country is a good time. Not something that slides down a hill and destroys you and your home. I feel so sorry for all those people who've lost everything.

Why do my clients think their problems are more important than anybody else? And no, I don't answer my phone at work very often.  - 1. I don't have time and 2. I hate being blindsided. Leave a message so I can do a little research before I call you back. And if you leave a rude message, I may not call you back at all. Or if you say the inspector was just flat wrong when he reported your house was filthy. Take a good look around and get back to me on that one.

What has happened to Memorial Day? I still decorate the graves of my family, but younguns nowadays don't show any interest at all. It's a matter of respect and remembrance, not just a fun time at the lake. Get with it young people! I'll come back and haunt you if I don't get at least a Pansie.

And some last words of wisdom from Maxine:  "At my age every hour I work should be considered overtime."

Do you have any burning questions? Maybe we can figure the answers out together.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - So Exciting

Yippeee!! I received my cover art for Beyond The Horizon this morning. And it's perfect. Can't share it yet, but I couldn't have asked for anything better. They really captured my characters. And, I also received my final content edits. OMG this is really going to happen. I almost cried when I saw my name on the cover.

My friends at work (yes, I have some) are almost as excited as me. They've seen the ups and downs of this whole process. The frenzied National Novel Writing Month when I first wrote this book, to my rejection letters and finally to my contract with Breathless Press. I can't believe it's been five years since this idea came to life. That seems like a long time, doesn't it? Such is the writing life. You write, you edit, you submit, you re-write, you re-edit, you re-submit. I've had people ask me why I would want to spend so much time on something that may never amount to anything. Why do artists of any genre put so much energy into creating?

Because we must.

Our town has a monthly First Friday Art Walk, where people flood the downtown area to mingle and meet artists. I bet if you ask anybody displaying their work, why they do it, you would get the same answer or something similar.

In the next few months I'll share more of this experience, but for now I just want to enjoy this moment in time. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Learning Curve

So, I received my first round of edits from Breathless Press for my novel Beyond The Horizon. Wow. Talk about intimidating. I have to learn how to use Track Changes in Word. I'm sure it's not that hard, right? After all, I wrote an entire novel, surely I can do this in a few days. Yep, that's right, my deadline is less than a week from now.

I also found out there are different styles of quotation marks - straight and curved and you can pick which one Word uses. Who knew? I had to Google how to do that, because the ones I used are wrong and need to be changed.

Mind you, I'm not complaining. After all, I've dreamed of saying the words edits, publisher, and deadline for a long time. It's exciting! I just have to keep telling myself that. It's exciting! Plus, I have so many people pulling for me and cheering me on. I can't fail. It's not an option.

I need to load up on caffeine, chocolate and pizza. See you next Friday.