Blog Hopping!

I've been invited to be a part of a blog hop and thought it sounded like fun.  I'd like to thank Aoife Marie Sheridan for inviting me to participate.  You can see her post here:
http://aoifesheri.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/blog-hop-eden-forest-july-the-28th-to-the-2nd-of-august/

Next up is the answer to the following four questions:

1) What am I working on?

Answer: NIGHT STUDY - Book 5 of the Study series, which continues Yelena and Valek's adventures after SHADOW STUDY - Book 4 of the Study series, which is due out March 2015! Next up will be Book 6, which doesn't have a title or plot yet.

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

Answer: When I'm writing, I focus on the characters.  Plot, action, twists, deceptions all stem from what motivates my characters and how they interact with each other.  And from the overwhelming response from my readers, I think I create characters that they care about and wish to invite over for dinner. :)  I also blend fantasy/SF elements with a bit of romance and a touch of mystery/suspense, which generates an "unputdownable" read. ("Unputdownable" is a direct quote from a number of my readers who have emailed me at three a.m.)

3) Why do I write what I do?

Answer: As I said in answer #2 - I focus on my characters.  And I love putting my characters through the ringer and seeing how they react. I find that fantasy and science fiction lets me play a little more with my characters.  It gives me the freedom to invent truly unique elements and not be confined to reality.  When I was a meteorologist, I couldn't forecast my way out of a paper bag, but in my novels, I'm always 100 percent accurate!  Also I love horses and swords and the challenges they bring to my story worlds.

4) How does your writing process work?

Answer:  When I spark on an idea for a book, I write a rough sketch of story.  Usually I have a beginning and an ending and a main protagonist and that's it.  I have to write a snyopsis for my editor to approve, so I guess on what's going to happen in the middle.  However, once I do get approval, the finished story never matches my synopsis.  I like to discover the story as I write, which makes that first draft a long process with lots of anxiety!  I spend the first half worried I don't have enough story for a novel, and then spend the second half worried I have too much.  Somehow, I end up right where I should be around 100,000 words!  You would think I wouldn't worry so much after writing 13 novels, but nope - I still do it!

Once I have approval, then I pull out a brand new spiral notebook and pick out 24 girl's names one for each letter of the alphabet and do the same for boy's names.  I choose names that I like and have an interesting meaning that might be applicable to the story. For example, in STORM GLASS, I found names that meant power and had weather references.  Names like Kade, which means powerful, Raiden, which is the name of a thunder god, Indra means rain, Tal means dew, and for my glassmaker, Aydan, which means little fire.

Then I start writing the story and do research as needed.  I did need to know quite a bit about glass blowing for my Glass books, so I took a number of classes to learn how to work with molten glass.  I write at night from 10 pm to 3 or 4 am and I write at least 1000 words before going to sleep. Most nights I write an average of 1300.  It takes me about 6-7 months to write a first draft and 1 month for revisions.  Then I submit it to my editor, agent and beta readers and wait for comments! Then I revise again based on all their comments.

To keep the blog hop...er...hopping, I invited authors Deborah Blake and Jonathan Lister to participate. Deborah will be posting soon and Jonathan has his up!

Deborah Blake: Deborah is best known for her Pagan/Wiccan books, but also writes Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.

Her blog: http://deborahblake.blogspot.com

Jonathan Lister: He's the author of the Demos City Series.

His blog: http://ijonathanlister.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/blog-mondays-what-im-doing-with-my-life/