World Wide Blog Hop

Good afternoon, all!  Long time no post – and I will have to do an update about that.  🙂

But today’s post is focused on a World Wide Blog Hop, which this prong, sadly, is coming to a screeching halt with me (at least for now) – sorry, Maggie!  If anyone would like to take up the cause, drop a note in the comments!!

With no further ado:

I was asked to participate by Maggie Thom, who writes romantic suspense (suspenseful romance?).  She has three books available (Deceitful Truths, Captured Lies and Tainted Waters – the links are here:  http://wp.me/P2ydBl-dX ).  Please, check them out, buy a copy (and one for each of your friends), and follow her blog.  Unlike me, she posts regularly!  🙂

As for me:  I’m a 40-something woman, living in Edmonton, who writes romantic comedies and post-apocalyptic dystopian novels…with a bit of romantic comedy thrown in there, too (don’t ask).  I started writing again, after 20-some years of writer’s block, in 2008 when I started writing fanfic.  Yes, the “F”-word!!  Regardless of personal opinions, writing fanfic let me develop a writing process, showed me people could enjoy my stories…and exposed me to some pretty harsh criticisms (albeit vicariously – knock on wood).  It also gave me the courage to share my stories with others.

Anyway, on with the tour…

1.  What am I working on?

In order of amount completed:

1.  Along Came Jones – a romantic comedy set in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.  He’s a wealthy man, rejected by his long-time lover, and she’s an agoraphobic recluse living in the small town he stumbles into.

2.  Historian’s Daughter – a tragic romance set in a dystopian world that is turned upside down when their capital city is destroyed.

3.  Plugs – a dystopian novella about the last of humanity merging (Plugging In) with the technology…and then the power goes out.  The story’s told from the perspective of the few remaining people who are not Plugged In, because…what do you do with 14 billion bodies?

4.  Aliens/Ghosts (working title) – this is currently a script, and I’ll be expanding it into a novel.  It’s about alien invasion, and using our ghosts to save us.

5.  A Year in the Life – the sequel to my first book, A Life Less Ordinary.  🙂

2.  How does my work differ from others in the genre(s)?

Well, in my romantic comedies, you’ll never find 20somethings whose biggest concern is the fact they’re still single at 25.  (OMG – the horror!)  Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of sex in my books…I’m working on that, but until I get better at sex scenes, I won’t inflict them on anyone.  It’s bad enough I have to read them!  I also love banter.  Lots and lots of banter.  Even in my darkest stories, there’s always a thread of humor and banter and a sense of “Life is just funny, you know?”.  ;D  I also tend to like heroines who are a bit older, although I may have to someday try my hand at writing a twenty-something main character.  I also like writing the male perspective, both because, well, I like my men, and because I like showing the other side of the relationship, too.

3.  Why do I write what I do?

I write what I love to read.  🙂  I also find that I can’t seem to get really dark (so far), and, like in real life, there’s usually something ridiculous in every situation that you can point to and say, “Life’s just funny, you know?”

4.  How does my writing process work?

I’ll write whatever scene pops into my head, and then whatever scene(s) flow from that, or whatever character points/plots/quirks come to mind.  I don’t write in sequence, and I usually only have a broad plot/premise (“what if she’s a recluse?”  “what if she has a mid-life crisis and goes on a road trip?”).  Characters develop from the scenes, and sometimes (like in Historian’s Daughter) the main character switches around.  🙂  I write with wild abandon, and then I go back and edit.  And edit.  And edit…and edit.  😀  Generally speaking, there are at least four full edits (not counting the first and second drafts), before something’s ready to be published.

Like I said, I don’t have any blogs to hand off to – if you’re interested, let me know!!

(And now I need to get back to my day job!  :D)