Thanks to Jeff Gardiner for tagging me in The Writing Process Blog Hop. Read about Jeff’s writing process here.At the end I’ll be tagging a few other authors, so please do follow those links to their blogs and interviews.
Click on the side links to purchase any of my published books, or you can get them from my publisher, Tirgearr Publishing.
What am I currently working on?
I have a few irons in the fire, but I suppose what I'm working on now is an inclusion in the City Nights Series from Tirgearr Publishing. Each story in this series is a short novella set in a different city and takes place over the course of a 24 hour period, or one night. Each story's title includes "One Night in...".
One Night in Dublin is set in Dublin Ireland, of course, and is about a woman who has to make a choice between the men she's been dating, feeling it's time to settle down and start thinking of her future. The evening doesn't quite go as she expects ;-)
This series is erotic romance so readers will be sure to get a lot of both. I'm not sure when mine will be published, but anyone interested in this series can check out the already-published and upcoming stories here.
My most recent publication is the third book in the Irish Pride Series -- Shape of My Heart.
This is the story of Grainne Vaughan. After seeing her brother discover his one true love, Grainne decides it's time to grow up and take her life more seriously. She moves back to Dublin and takes a job, but her earnings aren't enough to pay for college tuition, so she moonlights as an exotic dancer. Things quickly go south as she earns herself a fan, a man who goes by the nickname, The Hunter, aka Dublin's top drug kingpin, Taylor Wade. He wants her to dance for him at his New Years Eve party . . . and more! But when she witnesses him murder someone, she's on the run.
Undercover detective, John "JD" Desmond, wanted Grainne to snitch for him; he's on a case to bring Wade down and sees Grainne as an easy CI. He doesn't count on her resisting him, or his affections. Now that she's on the run, JD is sworn to protect her, but who will protect his heart?
What makes my writing distinctive?
Two things, I think --
1) I write real people with real problems, and
2) Emotion and senses -- I use them both to really draw out the character's personality and experiences, and so readers can really be inside the character when they're reading.
Why do I write what I write?
When I read, I do it for escapism. I want to be in another place, maybe another time. I want to be in the story; I want to be that character. I try using all the senses and add personal emotion so that readers will get pulled in like I want to be. So many stories these days are action-driven or plot-driven that I want to bring readers back to character-driven stories which also have great plot and action/suspense.
My Irish Pride Series has all the emotion, action, and suspense I like reading in stories, plus all the senses needed to really get into the characters and the scenes they're in.
How does the writing process work?
I used to be able to write anywhere, regardless of noise. When I was younger, I could tune out the TV, radio, surrounding noises, etc. Not so much today. Now I need a quite place with just the sound of the keys clicking away. In a way, keystrokes are like a tempo, and when I'm in the groove, that tempo helps keep me on track. Once I'm in the groove, I can spit out a few thousand words a day, only stopping because I can no longer sit or my fingers stop working properly and I'm forced to rest.
The actual process itself includes lots of research once I have a basic plot down. I rely on the usual W5+H+M to flesh out characters and a basic plot, then put my butt in the chair and start writing.
What next?
My aim is to finish The Diary. I cut my writing teeth on historicals, but up until now, everything I've published has been contemporary. The Diary is a time travel which primarily takes place in a past Ireland. I started this one a while back with the goal of having it published this past April for the 1000 year commemoration of the Battle of Clontarf, but it didn't quite go to plan when a) The Irish Pride Series forced itself out of me, and b) we started Tirgearr Publishing and my focus got redirected. Now that things are starting to find a level, I can start dedication some personal writing time again.
The Diary is about a woman who takes an extended trip to Ireland to 'find herself' and winds up doing that a thousand years in Ireland's past. Lots of twists between my made up history and real Irish history. A great read, if I say so myself!
And now I’d like to tag the following authors. Please visit their blogs to read about their writing processes. Please note: Some of these authors may still be working on theirs, so check back!
Elizabeth Delisi
Charlene Raddon
Isabo Kelly
Sharon Black
