I have ordered your June Blaze from eHq.com (it’s now wending its way to CA), so, am happy to hear it will be a relationship story, which is my type of entertainment.

Happy Mother’s Day to all 4 of you (& any of the other mothers on the blog).

Patricia

So I think that reading the back cover copy, reviews, the “reader blogs” at eHarlequin, and paying attention to the authors who write the kinds of stories you like, could really help you with your reading!

That said…my next two back-to-back Blazes in June and July are pure relationship stories. Sexy, fun, funny. No suspense. Just FWIW.

I haven’t written nearly so many books, and I am finding my process changing a lot lately. The last two books I wrote, the process was so different, not only from all the books I’ve written before, but from each other as well!

I find that I usually come up with the premise first (e.g., a girl at an Ivy League school joins a secret society, or hunters of killer unicorns), but like you, I believe that plot is what happens when characters intersect with a situation — whether it’s an external situation, or something internal, like the “catalyst” character that makes them look at what’s broken in them. So I spend a lot of time thinking about characters.

I usually write a synopsis first (or after writing a chapter or two, to see if there’s any “there” there) and then put it aside while writing the book, returning to it only when I get stuck or forget where I’m going next. I think of it like a road map. You only take out a road map if you think you’re getting lost!

I’m also really into structure. I find this comes into play more in revisions though. After I’m done with a draft, I do the post it thing (thanks for the shout out!) so I can see that I’ve got all my ducks in a row and that the structure is sound. I never had any screenplay writing in my background, but I do believe in those techniques. I’ve really learned a lot from Michael Hague, and I’m an utter devotee of four act structure.

Great post!