Monday, June 30, 2014

The Big Easy Blog Tour

Many thanks to Tierney James, a fellow author of mine from Black Opal Books.She invited me to be a participant on her tour, so for those of you joining me for the first time, a few answers that she posed to me.

What Am I working on?

I have an equal love of  writing Paranormal Romance and Young Adult Paranormal. Currently I am working on three different projects. The first is a paranormal romance mystery with a working title of The Reunion. It's a story about two families that hold a summit every fifty years. The families are the chosen representatives of Heaven and Hell , their job to maintain the balance between good and evil. The story centers around the mysterious death of a member of one family and the struggle for two opposing members to solve the mystery before all hell breaks loose.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?
I like to focus on my characters and how I can challenge them to grow and learn from their experiences. I think while creating the universe, the atmosphere is very important, but it is the emotional connection the reader has to the characters that make the story. As a reader and a viewer of many movies, I believe it is the stories that connect with its viewers that make the most difference. While I think cool ideas and elements that enhance the story are important, the essential pieces that make the story successful will always be the human connection. I don't like getting caught up in elements of a story that detract from the reading experience. Things like impossible names that the reader spends time trying to pronounce, or hundreds of characters that are difficult to keep track of pull the reader out of the story and once immersed, as a writer, I feel an obligation to keep the story as clean and straightforward as possible for the sake of the reader and making their experience as pleasurable as possible.

Why do I write what I do?

What can I say, I am a sucker for romance. I love strong male characters, headstrong heroines and interesting sidekicks. An unusual twist on reality through creating a paranormal injection of interest keeps me intrigued as well. As writers we spend so much time on the characters and their story during the development stage. It's important for me to be interested in the people and their stories because of the time spent developing their universe. If the circumstances and people don't constantly challenge me, the marathon of writing their story won't make me want to see how their story ends. Often something will happen  to a character and at the time I did not have any idea why I made that happen. For example in Showdown at Evil High, I had no idea why Sullivan demanded to see his dead wife at the beginning of the book. I had no clue how that would fit into Killara's journey until the story had almost finished and this element became important to both characters. I also love writing what I do because I want to be a character in that world. I want to be the gorgeous headstrong heroine, fearless and free. Is is living vicariously through them? You betcha!

How Does My Writing Process Work?

I wish I was disciplined enough to say I get up at the crack of dawn, write for a few hours and can turn out a book in a month. Unfortunately that isn't me. I write best at night, just before bed. Currently I have a 9-5 job so I am able to write during my lunch hour as well as after work.  I have a home office but also write on my couch, in my bed and at the local Starbucks. Basically I carry my laptop where ever I go and when the mood strikes, I write.
And now a few fellow authors, I would like to promote...
In the interest of paying it forward, I am featuring other authors on my website all this week . Here are the first three. I hope you click on their links and check out their fabulous bodies of work!!!!!

Meet Lauren Linwood ! 

Since I was a history teacher, I enjoy reading novels that tie in historical tidbits to their plot. Steve Berry and Brad Meltzer are masters at this. I’m an avid moviegoer, and I also follow college and professional sports. I love to walk every morning and do yoga—but I will never be able to pull my foot from behind me to hover above my head! I watch everything from Downton Abbey to The Walking Dead and wish I could be a writer/producer on Game of Thrones. I gobble up shows such as MasterChef Sand The Next Food Network Star, but I’m sad to report that I’m just a mediocre cook . . . who loves to eat!


She's promoting her new book: Written in the Cards

Maggie Rutherford jilts her too-perfect society groom at the altar and flees to the American West, where she turns her travels into dime novels that she writes under the pen name Lud Madison.

Civil War veteran Ben Morgan marries his childhood sweetheart and takes her to homestead on the Great Plains. Losing her in an Indian attack, Ben becomes a gambler. When he kills a cheating opponent in self-defense, the man’s gunslinger brother swears revenge.

Ben hides on a cattle drive and brings in a herd to Abilene, where a waiting Maggie interviews him for her next story. Sparks fly as they wind up living in the same household, running a general store east of Abilene. But with Black Tex Lonnegan on his trail, will Ben run from his growing attraction to Maggie and the gunfighter’s promise of death–or will he make a stand for his life–and love? 



Meet Heather Wampler !

I'm a simple woman. I love to write. I love love. So I combine the two with some added flair. I tend to write about whatever I'm into at the time. My first novel was about zombies. While at work one day a few of the neurosurgeons and I got talking and The Last Alive was born. The next novel, War of the Gods was born when I was watching my husband play God of War. The third and my second favorite, Cutlass Anne, came from my love of history and my love affair with pirates for a few months.  
I love to write. There is a force in side of me that compels me to write so I do. At the moment I'm working on four more novels. Two that are in the editing stage. It's almost as though I have these stories in my mind that are just bursting to come out. 
I would love to tell you about my most recent release, Cutlass Anne.
After setting out to save her sister, Anne Crowley finds herself face-to-face with the notorious John Jacks, the ruthless pirate captain. John Jacks thwarts Anne’s every move yet she finds herself attracted to the infuriating pirate. Determined to find her sister, and resist the charming John Jacks, Anne and her band of pirates must search the high seas for clues to finding her missing sister before she’s lost forever. 
Twitter - hlwampler


4 comments:

  1. Well done! Love your diversity and ability to work on more than one project. I write more at night too, but currently I have the luxury to write during the day too. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My mind just goes once the sun goes down. I wrote 8k last night. There is just something about a quiet house and not having anyone going "mom, mom, mom, mom" every 5 seconds. lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm a morning person. I'm more creative when I'm fresh I suppose:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice writeups on Lauren and Heather, but who's the mysterious third author to whom you referred?

    ReplyDelete