I was asked to participate in the Sucker Magazine Blog Hop by an author you’ll recognize if you follow me at all. . .Jesi Lea Ryan writes one of my favorite YA series, The Arcadia Books. Arcadia’s Gift and Arcadia’s Curse are just amazing books. . .and the third book should be coming VERY SOON. I hope. Jesi, are you reading this? 

Check out Jesi’s post last week here.

Part of this project involves a discussion on our writing processes:

1)What am I working on?

At the moment, I’m in the middle of writing JUST DESSERTS, the sequel to my New Adult contemporary romance, BEST SERVED COLD. My last two releases were paranormal romance, so I’m enjoying being back in the so-called real world. And I love these characters. . .they were not supposed to have their own story, but here it is.

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

This is hard when it comes to contemporary. I like to think my characters are appealing, even while they are flawed. And one rule I have, whether I’m writing contemporary or paranormal, adult, New Adult or Young Adult. . .I write strong females. Strength may not always be in the stereotypical understanding, but it’s there. Family relationships are also important in my books.

3) Why do I write what I do?

The stories come, usually by way of characters. Every now and then, a story will fall into my lap fully formed. I don’t necessarily choose when to write what, but the common denominator is always romance, whether it is contemporary or paranormal. I like love stories. They make me happy!

4) How does my writing process work?

I start with a loose timeline of events and character information, like names, applicable dates or relationships and physical descriptions. And then I just start writing. In the early chapters especially, I spend a good amount of time thinking about my story even when I’m not writing: I’ve found that laundry, floor mopping and dish washing are all excellent mindless tasks that free me to listen to my characters. I also listen to the playlist for the book frequently while driving, which also keeps me in the right frame of mind.

After I finish, I go back through to add, tweak and do as many of my own line edits as possible, before it goes to others for edits and proofreading.

Thanks for visiting today! The next stop on this hop will be at Liz Schulte’s site. Liz is an amazing author. I absolutely love her Guardian series, and her Easy Bake Coven books, but I have to admit, my favorites are her Ella Reynolds books. They’re paranormal mysteries (or paramysteries).

And then another of my fabulous author friends, Stephanie Nelson! Stephanie writes the Gwen Sparks books (LOVE them), the Anna Avery series and just recently, she’s turned her hand to contemporary romance with Turning Home, a sigh-worthy, swoon-inducing New Adult small-town story.