Being a member of Romance Writers of America, as well as my local chapter, Music City Romance Writers, brings unique opportunities my way. And today I am acting upon one of those opportunities!

Fellow member, Jody Wallace, is part of an ongoing blog tour that highlights each writer’s writing process. Please check out her blog at: http://meankittybox.blogspot.com. You will find her writing process blog on the March 10th posting. Jody is an author of paranormal, science fiction/fantasy, and contemporary romance, as well as a few other goodies as the mood strikes her. She is especially fond of cats and when she engaged me to participate in this tour and helped me tweak my blog page, she hinted that I may now see cats pop up in my posts unexpectedly. Hmm… Good thing I like cats!

So now it’s my turn to answer four simple questions about my writing process. I know that I have a number of other authors who follow my blog, so if you’d like to hop on board, send me a message.

Question 1: What am I working on?

I decided several months ago to take an enormous step into the world of self-publishing, and will be releasing “Marked” in late April. So, I am working on some deep revisions, and have already hired a cover artist and editor so that my book is the best it can be. Terrifying? Yes. Exciting? Most definitely! Please check out my “books” tab after you read this post and you can read my prologue.  🙂

Question 2: How does my work differ from others in its genre?

I initially thought I was writing ‘romance,’ and though my book is a love story it goes beyond the typical romantic elements needed to make it fall specifically into the romance genre. It has a happy ending, but the angst the characters go through makes it fall into the line of ‘women’s fiction.’ Also, I don’t know of anyone else right now who is writing a book that takes place on an 1850’s Mississippi River steamboat.

Question 3: Why do I write what I do?

I love history, research, and happy endings. I also love stories that have depth and plenty of emotion. I want my readers to feel something that will touch their hearts. And most of all, I love to step back in time and imagine what things could have been like. Books should take us on a journey, so that’s what I always try to accomplish with my writing.

Question 4: How does my writing process work?

Strange as it may seem…most of my ideas have come from dreams. Somehow ideas just pop into my head and I run with them. I always jot down my basic plot and know how the story will start and end, but the middle is always a mystery. My characters take on lives of their own and often lead me down new unexpected paths. That’s the fun part!

Next Monday, March 24th, another fellow writer will be posting her blog, so please check out her page.

WRITE ON!!

A cat…for Jody. 🙂