My Writing Process and What's Up Next?

The fantastic Margaret Ethridge invited me to this blog hop. Please stop by and check out her answers to these questions, too: http://margaretethridge.com/ and visit Karen Stivali who started the hop http://karenstivali.com/

1.  What are you working on?

            As usual, I’m working on two books right now. What started out as women’s fiction has become a contemporary romance. (Sometimes your characters tell you where they want to go. It’s usually best to follow.) Flight of Fancie is about a woman whose never left her Mississippi home. But after her fiancée, a local doctor, abruptly calls off their wedding, Fancie Hollensby decides it’s time to make some changes and takes flight, heading for New Hampshire. The other book titled The Real Thing is about the stress Janelle DuMonde’s (aka Jane Devereaux’s) career as an author of spicy romance novels puts on her twenty-plus year marriage when her husband begins to feel like a prop for her stories.

2.  How does your work differ from others in the genre?

            I think every story is unique to its author. My women’s fiction novels tend to incorporate an element or sub-plot of romance. My romance novels tend to delve deeply into the emotions and psychological workings of my heroines. (I used to work as a psychotherapist, so I can’t help myself.) The story is never just about the romance. I’m not sure if that would be considered a good difference or not, but I’m happy with the results and my readers seem to like it.

3.  Why do you write what you write?

            When I write women’s fiction, I love digging deeply into my character’s heart and soul as well as into her head. I enjoy stories in which strong women can risk being vulnerable and still come through with flying colors. And romance? Well, what can I say? I’m a romantic at heart. Romance is fun. I enjoy writing the attraction and battles that go on in a romantic relationship. And I enjoy getting into the male perspective and the hero’s head. Mostly I write to entertain.

4.  How does your writing process work?

            To say I have process makes it sound as if I’m organized. That would be a lie. Sometimes I get what sounds like a great title bouncing around in my head. I play with that until I come up with the story behind the title. Other times, I get that ‘what if’ question that spins out into a story. ‘What if a born and bred Southern girl moved to New England?’ And then there are the times when a character introduces herself or himself and I listen for their story. No process. It may sound like an ADD way of writing—“Oh, look. Something shiny. I’ll follow it.” It’s the only way I know.

(I've invited a few authors and, as soon as they respond, I'll post their blog links for you. So, check back.)

Linda