Live from London! Writing Process Blog Tour

I was recently tagged by fellow author, friend and all-around playmate, Syd Parker, in the Writing Process Blog Tour. Syd has published nine fabulous novels (and has penned a few more...at least partially...and keeps them hidden—just to torture me). While she is grateful I do not live in Indiana as I would have broken into her house close to midnight and jumped up and down on her bed the night nominations were announced, I am proud of her GCLS nomination and have air horns ready should her name be called.  Please check out her blog and become a fan if you aren’t one already.  (Hint: look to the right and follow the link...Musings and Random Thoughts)

What am I working on?  Caught and Kept is in the final formatting phase and should be

out before the end of June. (I know, Syd!  Your $5 is in the mail!  I was running for a plane.) The second in the Siren Song Series, it is the story of Kai and Dani, two friends who struggle with the reality of falling in love while not wanting to jeopardize their deep connection as friends.  Caught and Kept tells not just Kai and Dani’s story but catches readers up on Helen and Cassandra and Melly and Gigi from Infinity’s Song.  After the release of Caught and Kept, I will be working on the third (and possibly final) book in the series which will be Melly’s tale.  There is also a book I’ve begun set in my new hometown of Portland with a working title of Any Way You Look at It which explores opening ourselves up to love and new life experiences.

How does my work differ from others in the same genre?  My smartass answer is I

take ten times as many words to say what needs to be said.  While I’m not sure it qualifies as “different”, I’ll say that I want to write women and characters who grow as people before I write a love story.  The love story is merely a catalyst for their personal development, and I want to write characters who have many stories to tell—even the ones beyond a happy ending.

Why do I write what I do? I walked away from writing in my twenties and didn’t begin again until   two years ago.  When I came back to reading lesbian fiction, I found I had something to add to the conversation.  I’m enthusiastically striding into middle age and I think lesbian fiction needs more generational voices and perspectives. I love getting lost in a book but I also want it to allow me to learn and be inspired and think.  Hopefully my work will do that for someone.

4. How does my writing process work?  Hmmm….that’s tough.  Infinity’s Song was written in thirty days.  Caught and Kept was started on a flight in March of 2013 and finished in December.  Editing and rewrites have taken six months with a divorce, two moves, closing down a business and traveling.  Having said that, my process is simple: when I have a story to tell, I write.  As my life gets less chaotic (I can hear several friends laughing loudly…!) and when my internal life gets less chaotic, I will relish writing for a few hours each day.  Infinity’s Song was written that way and I enjoyed that very much:  Getting quiet, shutting out the world and stepping into the room with my characters to see what they had to say that day.  I come to each story with an idea of each character’s issue, some story arcs along the way I want to get them to and sometimes an ending, but from there I let the characters tell me their stories.  When I reread the pages from the day before sometimes I say to myself: “I didn’t see that coming.”  Perhaps this is why my books take so long.  I want the stories to be authentic.  I don’t want to force my agenda.  Much like building friendships, I find it best to be open and listen.  People will always show you who they are.  Characters are no different.

So now I am tagging the newly-minted winner of the Lambda Literary Awards, Andrea Bramhall.  Check out her webpage for all of her work.  http://www.andreabramhall.co.uk/  Rumor has it I am not the only one to tag her for this blog so hopefully she will come out from her state of disbelief and play with us.  Andrea, you look lovely in red, darling!  We’re all very proud of you!!!