This particular blog hop is about authors offering a glimpse into their lives and their work. What our schedules are like and what really goes on in our heads. Some of us are just the way we portray ourselves online, others…not so much.

So, who invited me to talk about myself and the way I write?

SabrinaDevonshire nicely dragged me into this and I blame her for any  random thoughts that may rear their heads during this exercise. She is the author of some uber hot erotica over at Extasy Books.

I hope you’ll find the time to check out Sabrina’s books and her website. I also hope that you’ll manage to visit the sites of the three authors I list below who will, I hope, be posting their own comments next Monday, April 7^th.

Now it’s time to give you a glimpse at my writing process…

1.)    What are you working on?

Currently, I’m working on several works in progress. I’m working on book three of the Taos Wolven Mates series, tentatively titled, The Grand Duchess. The series is published by Siren Publishing.

I’m editing the print version of The Endowed due to release later this spring. I’m also working on book one of the Caspian Cascade, book four of The Gate To Fate, Stellar Dare, and book four of The Chosen series. Book four of the chosen has been a long time coming. I can’t wait to get back into my vampire world with something just a little different to shake my characters up.

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

Hmm… I never know how to answer this. I’m not sure.

I tend to try to make my books character driven and fast paced. I’ve never really been a fan of overly descriptive passages in a book. I like description, but some books I’ve read go a little overboard with it. One of them in particular gave a twenty-six page description of a woman’s ball gown and her hair style. Another gave a twelve page description of a character’s dinner. I’d rather not get that caught up in what someone is wearing or eating unless it’s significant to the plot. I try to give my readers a happy medium between description, character development and driving the plot to its conclusion.

I used to be a dedicated pantser. Plots came to me in a linear manner and I wrote until they reached their final, logical—to my muse anyway—conclusion. Now, I usually work with an outline. Not because the ideas don’t flow as easily anymore, but more because I have several series that I need to keep true to their own mythology. I can’t have people reading minds in a new book who aren’t supposed to read minds or others having telekinetic powers whom I’ve already established don’t have that ability. An outline along with a file with the ‘rules’ are always open while I’m writing the new book in every series.

The outline is never set in stone. It’s a guideline I follow during the writing process. I still allow the muse to throw in unexpected twists and take us all on occasional roller coaster rides. I have to, otherwise they step in and take a book so far out of my comfort zone, it takes me forever to write the story. I’ve had this issue with The Grand Duchess. Some passages are so far out of my comfort zone I can only hope it holds up to my readers’ expectations.

Once I feel as though a story is finished, I pass it on to a few trusted friends who have volunteered to be my beta readers. If it passes muster on that end, I send it in to my publisher and bite some virtual fingernails—along with my real nails—until I receive edits.

I love my editors, every one of them. In my opinion, they are the reason I am where I am today with my writing. For those of you new to the craft, I can’t stress enough how a good editor can help you polish your books until they shine like the sun.

3.)   Why do I write what I do?

Love and the idea of being in love was a deciding factor. I love romance. I have always loved romance. I read my first Harlequin when I was in my early teens. My sister left it lying about. I wondered what she saw in them and picked it up. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Of course my tastes have changed throughout the years. I rarely read a ‘sweet’ romance, but it isn’t unheard of for me to do so.

I read my first paranormal romance in 1999. It was Christine Feehan’s Dark Prince. Once I  read that, I was stuck on vampires and shape shifters. I powered through every paranormal romance I could find and went searching for more.

When I complained to my husband that I couldn’t find anymore paranormal books to read by my favorite authors, he looked at me and said, “You’re always making up stories. Look at what happened to that one you used to tell the kids about their toys coming to life? You never put it on paper and someone beat you to it. Maybe it’s time you started writing your own.”

So…I tried it.

The rest, as they say, is history.

4.)   How does your writing process work?

I write whenever I can. I usually try to write a bit in the morning on the way to the day job. I write on and off throughout the day, during breaks and lunch then again in the evening on the way home. I do my best to write after I get home, too. It’s difficult to keep a steady writing schedule and hold a full time day job.

Believe me, if this was making me rich, I would quit the day job and write full time. However, since every author knows that the precious few who make a good living off their writing are those who have been on the NYT Bestseller list multiple times or those who have gotten TV and/or movie deals.

So…I do the best that I can. I write as much as I can, when I can, and hope that someone likes it. So far, it seems as though someone does.

5.)   Who will we meet next week?

I’m happy to say that I’ll be introducing you to a few fellow authors that write hot erotic romance. Franny Armstrong author of Jinn and Toxic, Kelsie Belle author of Playing for Keeps and I’ve taken the liberty to add Missy Martine because she’s an awesome author and friend and I couldn’t find a third so I nominated her. Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll post this on her Facebook page. Missy, I apologize in advance for tossing you under the proverbial bus. LOL

Now for the featured authors: Give their books a chance and check out their individual pages for their posts next week! Who knows? You might just find yourself another awesome new-to-you author.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tianna

 Franny Armstrong

Jinn and Toxic

Romance and adventure go hand-in-hand when a set of identical twins with powerful psychic abilities work for the military. Sergeant Jinn Dennison goes AWOL when her sister, Julie, is shot and nearly drowned in a Mexican rainforest. When Jinn's mistaken for Julie by her captain, she soon finds herself branded a traitor.

Tab, (Toxic) McTavish never would have believed Julie would ever betray the team, yet something was strange about her all of a sudden. Toxic Tango Troop's mission was to take down a drug dealer by the name of Iceman, and get out of Mexico fast, but a traitor in their midst has given them away. While on the covert mission, he tries to find his kidnapped sister, Tara, but Jinn wants to rescue her own sister, whose life is in jeopardy.

Together, Tab and Jinn find keeping their hearts free harder than chasing after Iceman as they search the rainforest

Kelsie Belle

Playing For Keeps

Left broken and bleeding, night club owner and accountant Cassidy Samson did her best to pick up the pieces of her broken self and move on with her life. She vowed never to let anyone get close to her heart again…until the potent force of a pair of green eyes threatens to bring her to her knees.

Hired as the new guitarist in the band at the Escape Lounge, Cameron Chase is intrigued and aroused by Cassidy’s tough-as-nails attitude and sets out to barrel through the formidable wall she has constructed around her heart, to get to the real woman behind the façade. He agrees to play by her rules in a reckless game of lust in hopes of finding love.
But will Cam be able to chase away the demons of Cassidy’s past that threaten to consume her? Will his love be strong enough to make her whole again?

Missy Martine

Star Wishes

Sarah Keevers had lived and worked in an orphanage in St. Louis since she was five years old. She’d stayed on to protect the younger children from the harsh headmistress. Now, she’s inherited money from a grandfather she never knew she had, and she wants to take the children far away. The only problems are the children don’t legally belong to her, and women have no legal rights in 1856.

So, Sarah changes her name to Samuel Kees, disguises the children, and heads west with her new family. She settles in Big Springs and meets up with Abe West, the local sheriff, and his brother, Ike. The two men discover her secret and decide she’d make the perfect wife.

They’re going to do everything they can to earn her trust. Will they be able to protect Sarah, and hold on to her love when her picture shows up on a wanted poster for kidnapping?