Osiyo~

I was tagged by the wonderful Mae Clair to share my writing process with you today. You can see hers here –> Mae Clair’s Blog, as well as the other two lucky writers she chose to share besides me today.

So I’m supposed to answer the following questions and then choose three other writers you can check out on March 24^th. How fun is that? Here we go!

1) What am I working on? 

Right now I’m working on three manuscripts. One is a short story for a contest, and I’m semi-plotting (yes, I said the ‘P’ word) another story as part of a new series with one of my publishers. The third project is the first of a four-book series set in a small fictional town in rural Texas. The Dew Drop Diaries follows four high school friends and how their lives turned out into adulthood. I’m writing Sassy’s story in the first book. Here’s a brief blurb:

Dew Drop Diaries, Book 1- Redesigning Sassy

Sassy Prentiss married her high school sweetheart as a drunken joke. When he’s seen leaving her rival’s house at an early hour a few days later she leaves town. Five years later she returns to Dew Drop to get the divorce she thought they’d already gotten, but somehow hadn’t.

She’s a city girl these days, but Xander LaCroix’s not ready to let her go again. He’s determined to prove to her, and himself, that she’s still the small town girl he loved and married—and that they are still perfect for each other. He sets out to redesign her way of thinking, back to the person she used to be.

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

I write it. I bring my own special voice and brand of style to stories that will make you smile, laugh and hopefully even cry with the main characters. I write romance set in small towns usually because that’s where I grew up and live today. It’s what I know.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I love that feel of first meets, falling in love and happy ever-afters that are so rare in the real world. If I can create that world for my characters and live vicariously through them it makes me very happy. That’s why I write; for me. But it’s nice to be able to share that with you.

4) How does my writing process work?

I’m a pantser and my books are character-driven. That is to say I write what my characters tell me to write and the story unfolds around them. I don’t plot, even though I do occasionally write a short plan to guide me, much like a simple synopsis. That’s important with a series like Dew Drop Diaries because details will carry from one book to the others and back again. I plot lightly (as mentioned in the first question) when writing for a multi-author series such as I’m getting into soon with The Wild Rose Press. But for the most part, I get an idea and just start writing and go where my characters take me. It’s fun, but sometimes I feel a little lost when they seem to know more than I do about where my books are headed. LOL Then again, I love the surprise of where they take me at those times!

Calisa’s Bio:

Small-town country girl Calisa Rhose is the author of a vintage historical novella, her first sale, and typically writes heartwarming romance in a few genres; steamy contemporary and light paranormal being her favorites—so far.

She’s been writing romance since she was a teen growing up in central Oklahoma, and reading romance books even longer. It wasn’t until 2005 that she decided if “they” can do it, there was no reason why she couldn’t write and get published, too. That realization began her journey into the world of publishing. Calisa dove into writing seriously and hasn’t looked back.

Since that day she’s become more determined than ever to see her name on bookshelves. As a member of the online group Marketing For Romance Writers and several other help groups, she loves to nurture other writers however she can. She continues to grow as an author since her first sale in April 2011.

After raising three lovely daughters, Calisa now enjoys relaxing with her husband of more than thirty years. They have a small plot of dirt for their menagerie of animals that include a Guiney pig, a cat, a goat, four small dogs and two horses. She loves spending time with her five granddaughters and crafting when she’s not reading or writing.

She’d love to hear from her readers at calisa.rhose@gmail.com and you can visit Calisa at www.calisarhose.com Find out about her first books on the Bookshelf page.

Also find her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest and Amazon

***

I want to thank Mae for talking me into doing this. Here’s a little about her.

Mae Clair:

Mae opened a Pandora’s Box of characters when she was a child and never looked back.  Her father, an artist who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars.

Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that vary from contemporary to mythical. Wherever her pen takes her, she flavors her stories with conflict, mystery and elements of romance. Married to her high school sweetheart, she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about writing, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats.

Discover more about Mae on her website and blog at www.MaeClair.net

***

Please be sure to check out these three authors I talked into playing next week to learn how they write.

Tera Shanley:

Tera Shanley writes in sub-genres that stretch from Paranormal Romance, to Historic Western Romance, to Apocalyptic (zombie) Romance. The common theme? She loves love! A self-proclaimed bookworm, she was raised in small town Texas and could often be found decorating a table at the local library.

She currently lives in Dallas with her husband and two young children and when she isn’t busy running around after her family, she’s writing a new story or devouring a good book. Any spare time is dedicated to chocolate licking, rifle slinging, friend hugging, and the great outdoors. For more information about Tera and her work, visit www.terashanley.com .

My blog www.terashanley.blogspot.com.

*****

Rebecca J. Clark’s Author Bio:

A former Golden Heart finalist, Rebecca J. Clark writes steamy and sweet contemporary romances for The Wild Rose Press and Bookstrand, and is also proudly self published.

When she’s not writing, you can find her at her local gym where she trains clients & teaches kickboxing, yoga & Pilates. All this exercise allows her to eat her favorite comfort food—Cheetos—guilt free. Speaking of Cheetos and why you shouldn’t eat them too often, she also just released her first diet book, The Checklist Diet—basic, no-nonsense information like she’s been teaching her clients for the past 10+ years.

Becky lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband of 27 years and two almost adult kids (okay, so they’re both over 18 and technically adults, but they still live at home, so…), a German Shepherd beast who lives to chase her two cats who plot to kill the dog. Don’t get her started on the number of dust bunnies…

Blog link: http://rebeccajclark.blogspot.com

*****

Amy Burgess’s Author Bio:

Amy Lee Burgess lives and writes in Houston, Texas but her heart belongs to New England – especially in the autumn. Ruled by two dachshunds and addicted to Irish breakfast tea and the Walking Dead, she loves to write about vampires, wolf shifters, gargoyles and other assorted paranormal creatures. Amy loves to travel to places like London England, Edinburgh, Scotland, Paris France and Providence, Rhode Island where she stalks the coziest Irish pubs she can find. She writes to trance and house music by candlelight and welcomes email from her readers – especially if they want to talk about the supernatural.

My blog:  http://amyleeburgess.blogspot.com

Thanks for dropping by and sharing the fun!

Dodadagohvi~