Uncovering & Discovering New Romance

 As someone who loves to read fiction or listen to books, I love discovering new stories and new authors and learning all about them. This week my featured guest in My Writing Corner is author Ryan Jo Summers. Her biography intrigued me because it says she likes to write romances that blur the lines of subgenres. For instance she mixes contemporary with time travel, Christian, suspense, sweet, and the paranormal. She compares it to blending a fruit and yogurt smoothie. 

Tell us a little about how you became a writer.  An event happened when I was ten that was hard for me to wrap my brain around. So I wrote it out, story form, and even illustrated it. I’d been reading since I could remember so making this unconscious step over to writing was more of a coping strategy then, but it paved the way to becoming a writer.

You write fiction and non-fiction.  Yes, I was published in the non-fiction world before my debut fiction novel. 

What do you like about writing non-fiction? It usually takes less time to write non-fiction. They are both so different, but the subject matter for non-fic is usually written—to some degree—to spec, so it saves me having to supply a topic.  Plus the faster turn-around is nice.

Tell us about your writing different genres and mixing genres.  What challenges and rewards do you find in doing that? It’s a natural thing for me to do the mish-mashed genres. The challenges are believability.  For example, my sophomore novel, “Shimmers of Stardust”, is inspirational Christian and time travel. Those two don’t naturally lend themselves to being believable when combined. The reward, however, is “Shimmers of Stardust” has remained my consistent best-selling book for 4 years running. Other challenges are creating the story lines to flow together, and not have one overpower any others, or overtake the romance. “Chasing the Painted Skies” has a lot going on in it. It’s a romance, with mystery, a treasure hunt, a shape shifter, and a ghost story. There were a lot of story lines to keep in line with that story. The reward is all the positive feedback I’ve received from readers. It ended up flowing together nicely. Many people say the setting is a character all its own in “Chasing” and that makes me feel good.

  

What advice would you give beginning writers? Write for yourself first and foremost. Never write for trends or uncomfortable genres. Writing is a learning process, from the first one to the last one, whether it’s one book, two books or one hundred books. Each one has something to teach. Each one.

What is your current book? 

September’s Song is my 2^nd self-published book, and first fictional one. The first was a blog to book non-fiction about my adopted dog and the challenges of the first two years with him. This is my “problem child” in that it was a very difficult book to write. It was sort of like a petulant child that demanded “Write me!” but then fought me every step along the way with how it wanted to be written. Honestly, most days I just went along for the ride as the characters dictated what was happening. It was a new experience for me. I wasn’t even sure what genre to label it until it was finished. That was tough! But it’s done, it’s live, and I could not be happier with the end result. It was worth every crank tantrum it gave me for the two-and-a-half years it took to write.

What made you want to write it? A friend sent me an email, with a series of various photos. One in particular struck a chord within me. Nothing fancy, just a child handing a Styrofoam carton to a man. But so much about the photo shouted it wanted to say something. So without any real sense of direction, I started scribbling away. Many of my original thoughts never came to fruition as the characters pushed them aside in favor of better and newer…err…suggestions.

How about a blurb?

Ivey London who lost her military husband, tried to move on with their son, her Alzheimer's mother, and a boss attracted to her. She finds him alive and amnesiac five years later. Armed with inexpiable abilities, he is pursued by a forceful group determined to reclaim him. Ivey is just as determined to keep her late husband.  Together, they uncover what happened to him, who is after him, and search for how to reclaim what they once were--husband and wife.

Now that sounds like an intriguing story! Here are the buy links if you would like to pick up a copy:

     Lulu:      http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/RyanJoSummers                          

     ITunes:  http://www.lulu.com/shop/ryan-jo-summers/septembers-song/ebook

    Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J1YCZYT   or  https://amzn.to/2O8sCJi

    Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/septembers-song-ryan-jo-summers

    Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Query=September%27s+Song

What is your next project? 

Several! I am still working mightily on a 1719 time travel/ pirate romance that is slated to be released November 2019. I need to get it finished and to the publisher. Last month I signed with a new publisher for a series of books. Stories 1-3 are written and contracted, so edits will start soon. I’ve started writing book 4 and planning out books 5 & 6. Ultimately, I hope to see around 9 to 12 stories come out of this series over the years. I have plotlines and some fleshing out for three other novels, I just need time to work on them. I have a non-fiction inspirational novella and a young adult/ new adult novel I will either self-pub or pitch to agents, when time allows. On top of that I still have my non-fiction articles to work on. I am a regular contributor to a couple of them, so there is always topics to research and drafts to work on. No dust should be collecting on my keyboard.

 How can readers get in touch with you and learn more about your books?

     Website:  http://www.ryanjosummers.com

     Blog: https://summersrye.wordpress.com/about/

     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanJoSummersAuthor

     Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanJoSummers

     Google: https://plus.google.com/102625157614483975158

     Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ryan-Jo-Summers

     Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ryan-jo-summers

Thank you, Ryan Jo, for being my guest today.  Any comments or questions for Ryan Jo?

Traveling Back In Time with A New Romance

Romance has always been one of my favorite genres to read and write, but I always like the stories even more when they contain an extra element such as suspense, fantasy or time travel.  That's why I was very excited when I learned about the new book by author Leslie Bowes, Heart Healer.

Leslie is a native of Maryland, but she moved to South Carolina as a young teenager. She tells us that she absolutely fell in love with the Low Country, its landscape and its abundant history. That countryside became the inspiration for her newest book, Heart Healer.

She has moved to Virginia recently and she says she can see the  promise of writing possibilities in that area as well as she studies the rolling landscape and the history.

But let's find out more about Heart Healer. Here's the blurb that immediately caught my attention:

Catherine Andrews is an English woman living in the 1800's. Her father sells her to Blake Von-Clyer to be his wife to pay off debts owed to Mr. Von-Clyer. Catherine soon finds out Blake is a cruel and horrible man.

On their wedding night, to escape his cruelty, she throws herself into the river. Death is better than marriage to a beast.

Christopher King is living in 2014 doing his best to raise his young son Ryan after his wife left him. One night, Christopher finds a woman in the river unconscious and barely breathing. She is also wearing old fashioned clothes. Christopher does everything in his power to help the young women. When Catherine regains consciousness, she finds herself in a strange and unbelievable situation. Terrified, she does her best to keep her guard up against Christopher. But as she gets to know him, she can't help but fall for the man who saved her life. When Catherine's dangerous past comes back to haunt her, it has Catherine and Christopher fighting for each other and their love.

Intrigued? I am! Want more? Let's get an excerpt:

"That’s true, but I don’t need a servant. I need a wife.”

Catherine dropped the spoon as her whole body shook. What was her father planning to do? Hard work? A wife? What was going on? She was not her father’s slave to trade as he wished. She was his daughter. Too nervous to turn around, Catherine prayed that she heard wrong.

“What did you say?” her father asked, shocked.

“You heard me.” Mr. Von-Clyer laughed. “You had no problem selling her to me as a servant Mr. Andrews, but now that I want her for my wife your conscience haunts you. What’s the difference? Either way your debt to me is paid.”

“Catherine, get over here now!” her father yelled drunkenly. The longer she stared at the vein in her father’s neck; she realized that she was making him angrier than Catherine had ever seen before.

She slowly walked over to the table and stood in front of her father. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she watched him drink his last bit of wine.

“You will be Mr. Von-Clyer’s wife to pay off my debt.”

“What debt?” Catherine asked angrily.

“Catherine, do not speak unless you are spoken to,” her father snarled.

“What debt?” Catherine yelled.

Her father jumped up from his chair with an angry shout, bumping the table, but James jumped in front of him.

“You cannot treat Catherine like that, Father. She is your daughter and my sister, not your slave!” James yelled.

Catherine’s father was having none of that. He lunged for James, but Catherine got in between them before her father could do anything. She knelt in front of James and wiped his tears. All the while she prayed for strength.

“Thank you, James, but I need you to go to your room.”

“But, Catherine—”

“No buts. Go to your room and stay there until I come for you.”

As soon as James was in his room, Catherine’s father grabbed her arms and shook her hard.

“Don’t you ever speak to me like that again, Catherine! Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” Catherine whispered, scared for her life.

“Good. Now go with Mr. Von-Clyer and pay off your debt.”

“Father, I beg of you. Tell me what my debt is?”

Want more? I do! This sounds like a wonderful book for curling up on cold winter days so here is the buy link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CXZRLCM/?tag=thewildrosepr-20

The best part that I discovered when I went there is that this is the first in a series! Thank you, Leslie, for bringing us your latest book.  Any comments or questions for Leslie?

In the Mood for a Suspense Series?

As  a long-time mystery fan, I always keep a watch out for new releases by my favorite authors, but I also watch for new books by authors I haven't read before. There is nothing more fun than finding a new author who pulls me into reading a new series. That was the case with author Julie Howard, who whose latest book, Crime Times Two is just about to be released.

The book is the second installment of her Wild Crimes series, a domestic suspense series, so that gives me two new books to read! She is the guest in My Writing Corner today.

Julie is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up & Write. 

This is the second Wild Crime, a series of domestic suspense books. Here's the blurb:

Meredith knows three things: First, the man in the library begged her to help him. Second, he was afraid of his wife. Third, now he’s dead.

While the evidence first points to a natural death, Meredith is certain there’s more to discover. People are tight-lipped in this small mountain village, and the man’s wife isn’t talking either. Then a second death occurs, with remarkable similarities. It’s time to talk about murder.

As a slow-burning relationship heats up in her own life, Meredith struggles with concepts of love and hate, belief and suspicion, and absolution and guilt. Nothing is clear cut…

She must decide: Is guilt, like evil, something you can choose to believe in?

 Want more? Here's an excerpt:

       Jowls quivered under the man’s weak chin, and Meredith noted the stained and frayed shirt of someone who spent a lot of time alone in dark rooms, sending out a better version of himself into the virtual world. His eyes were anxious and beseeching at her as though she should have a clear understanding of him and his life.

       Somehow, over the past hour and a half they’d been sitting next to each other – him playing video games and sharing his life story and her ignoring him the best she could – she had become his confessor and friend.

      Meredith gave him what she hoped was an impartial-though-quasi-friendly smile. She reached for her purse and papers and rose from her chair. “Well. Nice talking with you.”

The man was lost in his own train of thought and seemed only slightly aware that Meredith was leaving.

       He shook his head, morose.

      "To make  a long story short," he summed up, "I think my wife is trying to kill me."

That grabbed my attention. The best thing is if you'd like to read on, there is a sale that starts this weekend on Julie's first book in the series, Crime and Paradise. It  goes on a 99-cent flash sale Friday (Oct. 5).

The story follows a young abused woman who ends up in a remote Idaho town. When her husband is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect. The local sheriff develops an interest in her beyond the investigation, and together they uncover some unsavory secrets in their small town.

  

For more on Julie, here is how to learn about her and get in touch as well as the buy links for her books:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

Web Page: http://juliemhoward.com

 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Paradise-Wild-Julie-Howard-ebook/dp/B073MYJSP9/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

  

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Times-Two-Wild-Book-ebook/dp/B07H4X7WQJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1537197504&sr=1-1&keywords=Crime+Times+Two

Thank you, Julie, for being my guest and introducing us to a new crime series! Any comments orquestions for Julie?

New Mystery Fiction for Fall

Sometimes it's the author of a book that grabs my interest. I have particular authors that I love to read and I try to watch for their latest releases. But sometimes it's the title of a book that gets me to take a second look, and that's even better because it introduces me to new authors. That was the case with the latest release by author CJ Zahner.  The title of her latest book, The Suicide Gene, drew me in, but then I discovered she also had another book coming out. Two books releasing so close together? Naturally I was intrigued and wanted to know more about her as an author so I asked her to be my guest in My Writing Corner. 

CJ, or Cyndie, hails from Erie, Pennsylvania, and like so many writers, she says she fell in love with writing at an early age. She credits her English teacher in high school for introducing her to the world of books, reading and writing. She went to work in the business world but also wrote articles for magazines. She married and had children before eventually turning her attention to writing books. Now she has two new books coming out, and two more that she is presently finishing.  

Her latest work, The Suicide Gene, has just been published by The Wild Rose Press, and as I noted, that title really grabbed my attention. Here's the blurb and that grabbed my interest as well: 

She thought they were her siblings. By the time she realized they weren’t, one of them was dead.

Doctor Emma Kerr had no right counseling them. Adopted and her birth records lost, she believed she was born a McKinney. Her face, intelligence, and depression resembled theirs. For years people mistook her for their sister. So she devised a plan. What begins as a scheme to counsel the McKinney family and determine if they are blood relatives, quickly causes Emma to wonder if she had truly done the manipulating. Is someone following her?

Now Emma clamors to escape the McKinney world of domination and deception.

Is she Mathew McKinney's sister? She can't be. Is he in love with her? He can't be. Then how do he and his sisters know more about her than she knows herself? This is a game to them. Is the game suicide? Or murder? 

Intrigued?  I was!  Let's get an excerpt:

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Funeral Parlor.

The face in the casket was her own. It nearly freaked her out.

She stood between her brother and sister, knees wobbling. Her high-necked dress clung to her skin, choking her throat, squeezing her long, slender body tighter and tighter until she felt her lungs might explode. Damn panic attacks.

Her siblings moved closer, tightening their grip on her when they heard her struggling to breathe. Together their tall frames—movie-star handsome—melded into a dark mass at the foot of the casket. It took all the energy the three of them could muster to keep her upright.

“Are you okay?” Melanie asked her.

She nodded.

“Try not to embarrass yourself,” Matt whispered.

Again, a nod.

She wasn’t sure she could get through the day without fainting. There were no breaks at a funeral, and she just wanted to get away from the grim whispery-whirrs of the bereaved and the sickeningly-sweet waft of the flowers. But she couldn’t leave. Matt would kill her and, besides, she had no cigarettes. Her sister was her supplier. Now she’s dead.

The parade of mourners stretched out of the room and down the hall and it was only 2:05. Some faces in line she didn’t recognize, which infuriated her. Her sister had no real friends. Nosy bastards. They just want to know what happened.

She tried to ignore surrounding conversations and remain composed. But like Medusa’s venomous mane, muffled words of hand-covered comments serpentined toward her from all directions. She couldn’t block them. They echoed in her head like garbled phrases over a worn intercom. “Why did she do it?” “Like her mother.” “Was it suicide?”

That last question nearly sent her to her knees. Her body sagged. Melanie caught her and Matt pulled her close, so she could lean on him until it passed.

“Don’t look if looking makes you queasy,” Melanie told her, but her glance drifted back to her sister’s pasty face. That’s what I would look like if I were dead.

She, herself, had considered suicide for so long it was hard to believe she still feared death. She hated funerals, could barely walk through the front door of a funeral home without hyperventilating. Yet, she had to go to this one. Her own identical twin sister lie in that ugly copper box, her head sunk low in billowing white silk.

“I’m sorry for the three of you.” Her aunt Carol’s hoarse voice coaxed her attention from the coffin. Notably thinner—grief now topping her midmorning chemotherapy cocktail,— her aunt dabbed a tissue at tear-stained cheeks. She was in the third round with breast cancer and getting her butt kicked. “I can’t believe this is happening to our family again. Did you know she was that bad?”

“Well.” Melanie paused. “She’s always had those tendencies, but we thought—with the counseling—she was doing better.”

“Counseling?” Aunt Carol’s cheeks pinked.

“Yes,” Matt said. “Six months ago we started seeing a psychiatrist—all four of us.”

“We thought a counselor might help,” sweet Melanie continued. “We decided maybe we did have some baggage about Mom’s—” She took a deep breath. Her gaze moved to her sister.

Don’t say it, Mel, don’t say suicide.

“Death.” Melanie looked away.

“How horrible.” Aunt Carol straightened. She appeared appalled. “You should sue him—that counselor.”

“Her.” Matt shook his head, eyes glaring. “She’s a psychiatrist.”

“We will sue her.” The twin’s voice rose, but she stopped, glanced at Matt, and tightened her jaw. “She didn’t give a damn about us. Now my sister is dead. She’ll pay.”

It happened then—at 2:10 p.m. She felt Matt’s piercing gaze and watched as he released his grip on her arm. Her aunt Carol became so emotional that Matt had to help her to the back of the room. Family members congregated there amidst her wild sobs while Matt held her, and a rush of people came toward her and Melanie at the casket. One after another. Melanie let go of her, too, and she had to stand on her own.

For the first time in her life, she was alone.

Want to read on? Here are the buy links:

The Wild Rose Press:      http://bit.ly/WRPCJZSG

Amazon:                           http://bit.ly/AMSGene

Barnes and Noble           http://bit.ly/BandNSGene

Kobo                                  http://bit.ly/KoboSGene

Riffle                                  http://bit.ly/RfSGene

If you want to read more by CJ, she has another book out, Dream Wide Awake, and here is how you can learn more about her as an author:

Author website:              www.cjzahner.com or www.cyndiezahner.com

Facebook:                         https://www.facebook.com/authorcjzahner/

Twitter:                             https://twitter.com/TweetyZ

Instagram:                        https://www.instagram.com/cjzahner/

Amazon:                           https://www.amazon.com/CJ-Zahner/e/B07G9KLT5L/

Goodreads:                     https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18283247.C_J_Zahner

BookBub:                          https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-zahner

Athletchic.com blog:      https://athletchic.com/

Thank you, CJ, for bringing us your latest releases.  Any comments or questions for CJ?

School Suspense Hits the Spot

Ever since my niece hit her teenage years, I've been keeping watch for books appropriate to that age group beyond Harry Potter. She devoured those books along with Hunger Games even before reaching her 14th birthday. I was so pleased to hear about Christine Grabowski's new book,  Dickensen Academy and immediately wanted to know more. I have to admit the location also drew my attention because it is set in the Northwest, one of my favorite places . I lived there years ago and love to set many of my own books there, just so I have an excuse to constantly visit the area for research. I also love to read books set in the area because they make me feel like I'm visiting.

Christine is the guest author in My Writing Corner this week.  She tells us that after graduating from the University of Washington, she earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She says she honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.

When she isn’t reading or writing, Christine says that she can often be found running, skiing, or hiking, perfect pass times for the Northwest. She lives in Newcastle, Washington, with her supportive husband, two avid teen readers, and their energetic wheaten terriers.  Dickensen Academy is her debut novel and while it is a young adult paranormal, it sounds like the sort of book that both young and old alike will enjoy:

Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.

Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs.

When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?

Now that definitely sounds like a good book for back to school reading! If you'd like to see what others are saying about her new book, here are the review links:

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41065431-dickensen-academy

Bookbub:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/dickensen-academy-by-christine-grabowski

Here are the links for Christine if you want to know more about her and check out the book trailer!
Website: https://christinegrabowski.com

Book Trailer:

https://youtu.be/sgjRes7zPLQ

  

Here are the buy links for Dickensen Academy:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dickensen-academy-map-success/dp/B07G71747S

Barnes & Noble (Paperback):

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dickensen-academy-christine-grabowski/1129315140?ean=9781509221233

Apple:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dickensen-academy/id1419915501?mt=11

The Wild Rose Press:

https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/6044-dickensen-academy.html

Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christine_Grabowski_Dickensen_Academy?id=3LpsDwAAQBAJ

Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dickensen-academy

And if you would like to know more about Christine or get in touch with her, here are her Social Media/Contact Links:

Facebook: 

http://facebook.com/christinegrabowskiauthor

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/christinegrabo/ 

Twitter: 

https://www.twitter.com/christinegrabo 

Goodreads Profile: 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18276822.Christine_Grabowski

Bookbub Profile:

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/christine-grabowski

Amazon Profile:

https://www.amazon.com/Christine-Grabowski/e/B07G7D9LJ2/ref=dbs_p_pbk_rwt_abau

Thank you, Christine, for visiting today and telling us about your new book.
Any questions or comments for Christine?

Taking a Journey with an Audio Delight!

The end of summer always makes me think of looking for new reading material because soon we won't be as willing to get out on cold days and that means more time to read! And what could be more fun to read than books that take us traveling in both place and time. That's the sort of work I found in this week's author guest in My Writing Corner, Jeannie Grant. She says she loves writing of all types, from non-fiction to fiction involving travel --

or time travel.  

Like so many authors, she began trying to write in her younger years, but then pursued another profession. Her background is in science, in biology, and she has written articles in that field, but she also says she loves to write about anything that suits her fancy. She hails from New England, where she says she loves walking the hills with her family. 

We love her fiction writing, which can take us on journeys through time, especially Scotland. Jeannie's latest work takes back in time to a fictional world that totally grabbed my attention. The book is  called, A Hundred Kisses and the great thing about it is that it is being released on audio!  I love to listen while I'm driving or walking. Here's the blurb.

Two wedding nights. Two dead husbands. 

Deirdre MacCoinneach wishes to understand her unusual ability to sense others’ lifeblood energies…and vows to discover if her gift killed the men she married. Her father’s search for a new and unsuspecting suitor for Deirdre becomes complicated when rumors of witchcraft abound.

Under the façade of a trader, Alasdair Montgomerie travels to Uist with pivotal information for a Claimant seeking the Scottish throne. A ruthless baron hunts him and a dark past haunts him, leaving little room for alliances with a Highland laird or his tempting daughter.

Awestruck when she realizes that her unlikely travel companion is the man from her visions, a man whose thickly veiled emotions are buried beneath his burning lifeblood, Deirdre wonders if he, too, will die in her bed if she follows her father’s orders. Amidst magic, superstition, and ghosts of the past, Alasdair and Deirdre find themselves falling together in a web of secrets and the curse of a hundred kisses…

Now that sounds like a perfect book for listening to while driving the kids back and forth to school or for driving while running errands!

The book is currently available through
The Wild Rose Press,
Amazon,
Amazon Audible, 
Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and iTunes.

And Jeannie tells us she has another book set in Scotland coming soon, titled A Hundred Breaths.  We'll be watching for it!

For more information on Jeannie and her books, here is her contact info:

https://www.jeanmgrant.com/bio/
https://www.jeanmgrant.com/blog/

Thanks for being my guest today and for introducing us to your new book. Any comments or questions for Jeannie?

Summer Writing Ideas

            Sooner or later we all get tired of writing day after day and sometimes things just come to a complete halt. We seem to be stuck for something to say or what to write next. Writing every day, especially when it has to come straight out of your head – as opposed to re-writing something – can sometimes become very difficult.

       How can you get that creative muse to return? Get away from it all and do something different. One of the things I love to do is take a research trip. Luckily, in Denver, research can be as easy and fun as going downtown to the history museum to do research on time travel I am working on. Or even better, how about a trip for tea at the famous Brown Palace Hotel? My time traveling heroine would be sure to visit such a spot, especially if she was in Denver in the early 1900s?

Okay, back to work.... one of the ways to keep away the doldrums is edit what you have already written, though there are times you don’t even want to do that.  Last week I wrote a blog on looking for other outlets and blogging is one of those outlets. Writing something other than fiction is a good way to get the writing groove back. As I wrote in that blog, I will be teaching a class on writing non-fiction, starting next week at Savvyauthors. One of my projects has been to work on a series on great women in Colorado history. That has given me a great chance to learn about some wonderful heroines who did so much to mold the history of the state, but also made great discoveries that changed history. Going from fiction to non-fiction is a wonderful way to sharpen your focus and also to work on your writing skills.

            But what else can you do? There are other options out there, including skills I’ve learned as a result of my non-fiction work.  One of the suggestions I give to writing students who are developing characters is to do an interview with the characters. When I do non-fiction interviews I am always having to come up with a list of questions that are tailored to the interview subject. Fiction writers can also interview their characters, and I always suggest the author fashion the interview questions specifically for that character. Then the real work starts. Answer as the character and let the answers go long. Really dig into who the person is and let their personality come out.  This past week I was teaching a class on developing characters and one of the final assignments was to do an interview with the character.  I always find that is a good way to get your characters to start talking and to get to hear their voice. Whether you are writing first person fiction or in third person, letting that person speak for themselves for a few paragraphs can be very helpful.

            Let the person’s voice come out. Let their inner frustrations come through. It might be in the form of the interview, but you can also try letting them write a few paragraphs as though they were writing in their own diary.  Then after you have let them go on and on for a few pages in their own head, you can study their answers and use that information in the story you are currently working on.  The more you get to know your character the better off you are.

            This can also be a good way to get to know your villain. Ask them questions and let them talk

about how they feel about the main character in the book. Ask what they might do to thwart that main character and ask about the weaknesses they spot in the hero or heroine. Again, you are not only revealing more about your villain, but it might also point out some things in your hero that you might not have noticed before.  These are all things that can then be translated into the story itself. This month I have been working on my latest book – one about Villains that will soon be out at Amazon to join the other non-fiction writing books I’ve written with Sue Viders.

            And that  brings me to another idea for what to do when you have the doldrums and can’t think of what you want to write next. Put your own knowledge into a story or blog for others to read. We all write differently, but there are always nuggets of ideas I learn from other writers just by reading their blogs. We all have different ways of doing things and learning other ideas or thoughts can be helpful. Sometimes we run across things we hadn’t thought of or we run across things we’re forgotten we heard earlier and meant to try.

            Reading or writing blogs regularly can be very helpful. As writers I think we read more than most but we can also remember to read for learning purposes rather than simply for pleasure. Learning about a new trend or a new idea can always give a new idea for a story. I always like to read news stories – especially human interest stories – because they can be another source of information that you might be able to use later in a book or fiction story.

            Also if you blog regularly don’t ignore those old blogs. Go back through them and see what you wrote about last year, maybe the year before that. How much more have you learned about the writing craft since then? What have you tried that didn’t work that you might caution others about?  There are always so many things to write about – an idea can hit you at any time, so it’s important to keep your mind as open as your eyes.