The Writing Process Blog Tour

A huge thank you to Debra Kristi for tagging me at her blog, Debra Kristi – Weaving Webs of Reality and the Fantastical,  for The Writing Process Blog Tour. I'm excited to be answering the questions.

What am I working on right now?

A lot! I just finished my latest book in the Breathe series, Shimmer, and am getting ready for publication. Cover art, proofing, sending out for ARC reviews, formatting, etc.

I am deep editing Exhale, a novella which comes after Shimmer (Did I just reveal the title for my next book? Let’s see if anyone notices.)

I’m writing the Prequel to Breathe, a 10-15k short story so my readers can meet Daisy, as sad as it is. This story is also the Prequel for my next series that I hope to launch in the fall or the latest for the holidays.  No name for the new series yet though.

Also this month I’m teaching an online class on Social Media for my local RWA chapter.  Whew!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Since my genre doesn’t really exist I guess it’s pretty different.  Not too many people write YA Romantic Suspense. Usually it’s Paranormal or Contemporary or Fantasy when it’s YA. Not too many people write about suspense in the YA market without some other kind of element. The closest I can come probably is Pretty Little Liars as far as genre. Usually my stories have a strong suspense story line to go along with the romance.  I think I write strong teenage girls of character that have a crisis of conscience but there is some element of danger as well.

Why do I write what I do?

I really love writing about first love. I think teenagers are fun and they are so much fun to write. You can have a lot of drama with a YA story that you can’t in an adult story. As far as the suspense goes I guess I just like a little mystery with my romance.

How does your writing process work?

When I decide to start a new story I brainstorm. I write down a lot of little details about who they are, what their motivation is, what the plot will be. This I do in a notebook. The muse has to be on board. Most times she will only reveal a little at a time about who my characters are and what the story is going to be. Once that’s somewhat established I start fleshing out the plot by figuring out the story arc. What are going to be the big moments? What has to happen to get them where they are going, midpoint, black moment, ending, etc. Then I start writing and hope my muse cooperates. Pretty simple but time consuming.

I’m tagging Shirleen Davies as next up in The Writing Process Blog Tour.

Shirleen Davies writes romance—historical, contemporary, and romantic suspense—with two series currently available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

She will be answering next Monday, May 5^th  on her blog so be sure to check it out then.