Bunnies Hop and So Do Blogs

Several authors in the blogosphere are posting about their writing process, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I know you’re supposed to tag four other people on your post, but I kind of forgot I was supposed to do that, so I’ll probably have people tagged in the next day or so with some linkage. I don’t follow directions well…

Anyway, thanks to Meredith Daniels for tagging me. Here are my answers to the questions provided. I hope they don’t lead any budding authors down the primrose path of corruption.

*1) What are you working on?

I’m currently working on a few things, but the main thing is a sequel to Necromancing Nim, from Samhain Publishing. I left our heroes and heroine in a bit of a bind at the end of that book, so I’m trying to get them back out of it. I’m also poking around at a paranormal romantic suspense and a follow-up to Blood on the Ice, my new book coming out in June from Samhain.

*2) How does your work differ from others in the genre?

I like to try to subvert tropes I see in other writing. For example, Necromancing Nim has a love triangle with none of that angsting about which man is the “right” one. Nim just goes for both of them. I also like to throw weird stuff together and see what falls out. Blood on the Ice features a professional hockey league where the players are all vampires. The story kicks off with a human NHL player being turned right before the Stanley Cup Finals, and takes him through his journey to get his life back. Mostly I’m just a little off-kilter, and so are most of my books.

*3) Why do you write what you write?

I write what entertains me. Or I write what my best friend tells me to write. One of those. Sometimes both. Mostly, I’m not going to waste my time laboring over a story that I don’t enjoy. This business is too stressful, difficult, and bizarre to make it even harder by forcing yourself to write what’s “in,” or what’s supposedly the next big thing. Unless the “next big thing” really turns your crank—then go for it.

*4) How does your writing process work?

It doesn’t. Well, okay, it does, but just when I think I have a workable process down, I start a new book and end up doing something completely different. In general, I start at the beginning and write until I get to the end. I usually have an outline. I don’t always follow it. My characters often do whatever the hell they want no matter what I have written down that they’re supposed to do. Most of my first drafts are a mix of handwritten and computer written. Sometimes I write on the computer, sometimes on the iPad, most frequently in a notebook with a pen. I’m not one of those people who gets up at the same time every day, sits down in front of the computer or other writing apparatus, and cranks out X number of words in X amount of time. Sometimes I do that. Most of the time I write whenever I can grab the chance, then hope all the pieces fit together when I stick them all in Scrivener.

Next Tagged Authors:

TO BE ANNOUNCED WITH GREAT POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE!!!

*drum roll*  Marteeka Karland