Hooray, my first blog tour! Okay not really a blog tour but a post that is touring blogs. This apparently has been circulating for some time. Though, new to the writing world, it is a first for me. I was invited by Sandra Lopez, author of Esperanza: A Latina Story. You can read her responses to the same questions at her blog.  I was fortunate enough to meet Sandra though a author-reviewer relationship when she reviewed Shattered, which you can read here.

This is a post on, as you read, my writing process. I am to answer these four questions and invite 3 more authors/writers to do the same. I know for me, it is always so interesting to read how other writers do things. We all have our own way. Anyway, to the questions!

What are you working on?
I am working on a fantasy tetrology. The first in the series is called From the Ashes. I hope to release all four books within 3 years, hopefully sooner. As it stands, I’m only about a week off my estimated timeline. First draft is finished. From the Ashes is about a woman who’s been living a lie, keeping a secret to save her and her family’s lives. She has a gift. But when the gift is discovered and people she hadn’t even known to keep it hidden from discover it, more than just her life is put on the line. Now she must face the choice of using her gift and attempting to save those that would see her destroyed, or to die with the rest of them.

How does your work differ from others of its genre?
I like to think From the Ashes series will stand apart in the Fantasy genre because I’m hoping I can introduce a bit of a thriller feeling to it. I hope to cut some traditional fluff of fantasy for a faster, heart pounding read that I haven’t seen very much. So the goal is to make it more of a page turner that will attract readers of the Thriller genre who don’t read much Fantasy and give Fantasy readers something a little different.

Why do you write what you do?
I write the type of books I’d love to read. Books that I haven’t come across yet, that scratch that certain itch. I love page turners. I need page turners. So I try to write books that would keep me turning pages. My first book, Shattered, was a Psychological Thriller. From the Ashes is Fantasy. I am still trying to find my genre niche, so I’m exploring. But Fantasy has always interested me. The unreal. The worlds that take you away. That make you wonder. That free you for only a few hours or a few days. Those are the books I try to write. The reason I read what I do is the same reason I write what I do.

How does your writing process work?
Hmmm my writing  process. This is a hard one since I’m trying to fine tune that. But basically I get an idea, then I brainstorm for weeks, exploring every possible option and problem that could arise. Then I rearrange these problems, my story line requirements by my side. It’s right about here, I haven’t decided how I prefer to proceed. Sometimes it ends up with a major outline that ends op stifling creativity or the story takes control and it’s a big ugly mess that needs plenty of rewrites. I have a checklist for each draft so I know what to focus on each time. I write in the morning before work, on my lunch break, and after work, literally squeezing in writing time whenever possible. I don’t drink coffee, so I have no coffee. I don’t drink tea, so I have no tea. I don’t drink wine, so I have no wine. I literally don’t have any traditional writer drinks. When I need a boost or a treat for working so hard, I get the most amazing drink ever. Cinnamon Dolce Cream Frappuccino. No it doesn’t have caffeine or alcohol…mostly just milk (yes, I realize I just admitted that I drink milk to spoil myself) but it is full of sugar and delicious whole milk. 🙂 Sadly I cannot drink that every time I write or soon I would outgrow my office chair. Anyhoo, off track now. But that is my process. Hopefully by book 3 I’ll have what works down pat. I’m sure there is a happy medium somewhere in that hot mess.

Check out more authors!
On July 10th the following authors will be posting on their sites about their writing processes! Check them out!
Ben Starling, soon to be debut author 2015.
R.L. Nolan, author of Deadly Thyme
Carrigan Richards, author of Pieces of Me and Under the Burning Stars