What’s Next? Fabulous Five Blog Hop

I was invited to the Fabulous Five Bog Hop by the oh-so- tantalizing Gillian St. Kevern, who is an author of mystery, vampire and paranormal romance.  These are a few topics I would like to attempt with my own writing.

What am I working on?

I am getting ready to start back to work on a book that features the twins, Tyler and Tyson Hensley from the Finding Our Way series.  The book actually takes place before the books in my series.  Tyler and Tyson are middle school age and have not moved to Chandler, Washington yet.  However they are the double trouble duo with a different set of friends.  The story starts out in their hometown of Ashville, Oregon and follows them until they move to Chandler, Washington where they connect with some familiar characters from a few of my previous books.  The book itself I started a few years back and never finished.  The characters, Tyler and Tyson I liked so much that I included them in my first three books.  The few people who read the one chapter I wrote of this book have been asking me to finish it for quite some time.

 

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

As with all my previous books, I write a story, not giving any thought to what genre it fits into.  My only concern ever, has been to write the book I have in my head.  This will definitely be a young adult book, however I am not going to pander to what to deemed social norms are as in regards to content.  Working with this age of kids, I am more apt to keep it real, connecting my readers to believable kids in believable situations.  Currently, I am trying to decide if I want to keep the content geared towards young adults or do my own thing.

 

Why do I write what I do?

Because these seem to be the stories that pop into my head and I am able to put into a book.  As I get my ideas out of my head and published, I am finding others ae popping into it.  It is always an adventure to see where my inspiration lies.

 

How does my writing process work?

These stories pop into my head and I get thinking and putting them together.  As I am thinking of them, I end up talking with a friend or two about them.  It is interesting, some people I know will simply listen, while others (for better or worse) will have suggestions for me on what I should include.  In both situations, I work out the details further in my mind until I have a book I want to write or it becomes an idea I jot down and file away.

I will sit down and start writing for a bit (an undetermined amount of time) and then when I reach a stopping point, I will reflect.  During this reflection time, I decide whether I am going to continue writing the story I’d begun or if I am going to save what I’ve written and wait.  If I’m going to wait I will type in whatever notes I have in my head or written down at the end of the document, close it and think about what big f—king waste of time that was.  I either will fume over it or immediately move onto something else.

If what I started writing is going to be something I am going to turn into a book, I will write out the characters on my board.  This is when I spend too much time fretting over each character’s name, debating if I like how they sound and if the name will match the personality, as well as making sure no one I cannot stand comes to mind having the same name.

Continuing with the board, I outline the chapters in my head.  This always seems to be the first four chapters, a gap proceeded by what will end up being chapters eight and nine, several more gaps, a chapter, several more gaps, a chapter, several more gaps, and then the final four to five chapters.  If I play it smart, I type these into my document, so I can easily move them around about every third time I sit down to write.  Otherwise, I put them onto Post-It Notes, so that I can move them around on my board or at least think about it as I write.

 

 Who’s Next on the Blog Hop?

Jenna Galicki - The ever popular author of adult contemporary romances and someone I am proud to call a friend.

Jennivie Wirries - A talented writer, reader and reviewer.

Lily Lamb - A fan, a friend and fairly new author.

J. Scott Coatsworth - Sci-fi and paranormal author who has welcomed me to take part with his group of authors although I have yet to publish anything in the genre. 

Alina Popescu - A wonderful person, great author and someone I can always count on when I'm in need.