Meet Alexa Grace

I'd like you all to meet author Alexa Grace. I met Alexa through that marvelous online group I've mentioned before, Authors Helping Authors. She is very supportive of fellow authors.

Welcome, Alexa. Please tell us a little about yourself.

My writing journey started in March 2011 when the Sr. Director of Training & Development position I'd held for thirteen years was eliminated. At first I was devastated by this job loss. But in time I realized a door had closed for me but another one opened. I finally had the time to pursue my dream of writing books — my dream since childhood. My focus is now on writing riveting romantic suspense novels starting with my Deadly Trilogy.

I earned two degrees from Indiana State University and currently live in Florida. I'm a member of Romance Writers of America (national) as well as the Florida Chapter.

I am blessed that my books Deadly Offerings and Deadly Deception have consistently been listed on Amazon's Top 100 Bestselling Romantic Suspense Books. I was recently surprised by being named one of the top 100 Indie authors by Kindle Review.  It is such an honor.

My writing support team includes five Miniature Schnauzers, three of which are rescues. As a writer, I am fueled by Starbucks lattes, chocolate and emails from readers.

My book Deadly Offerings is the first of my Deadly Trilogy. The second book of the trilogy is Deadly Deception. The third book is Deadly Relations, now available on Amazon.

Love that support team. LOL When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I've wanted to be a writer since I was a small child. I wrote a romance novel in 1985, went the traditional route and it was not published. I made a career change that year and for the next 25 plus years; I devoted myself 100% to raising my daughter and my training management positions. When I lost my job in 2011, I did a lot of Internet research in self-publishing. Indie authors like Theresa Ragan and John Locke really motivated me to take the indie route. Like them, I wanted to retain control of book design, writing, marketing, etc. Thus, my indie journey began.

How do you come up with ideas?

I have always had a vivid imagination. I think of a possible plot then play the "what if game" with myself.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

My favorite part of writing is playing the "what if game" with myself. Since my books include crimes and crime scenes, I play this game quite a lot.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I treat my writing as a job. I work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day. Although, I'd love to spend all that time writing, I spend at least two hours a day marketing my books.

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

Although each of my books can stand on their own, you might start with Deadly Offerings because is the first book of my Deadly Trilogy.  Deadly Offerings will give you a good introduction to the characters of the three books as well as my writing style.

I agree, it does. What do you hope readers take with them after reading your work?

After reading one of my books, I want my readers to say, "Wow, that book was so good I couldn't put it down!"

I just started reading Deadly Offerings and, unfortunately for my own writing, it is very hard to put down. LOL When you're taking a break from your own writing, what authors would we find you reading?

I'm an avid reader of romantic suspense and there are many authors in this genre who have my respect. My current favorite authors are Allison Brennan, Christy Reece, Karen Robards, Laura Griffin and the prolific Nora Roberts. Each of these talented women is an expert at spinning an exciting tale around believable and loveable characters.

Tell us about your latest book.

Deadly Relations is a romantic suspense that is the third book of the Deadly Trilogy and was just published.

In Deadly Relations, a serial killer of young women hides in plain sight in a quiet county in the Midwest. He hides behind a friendly face that inspires trust, a personality that is charming and persuasive, and has a rage to kill he can't control.

Detective Jennifer Brennan knows that an abduction is the equivalent of a nuclear blast to a family. So when three young women go missing and are found murdered on her watch, she vows to find the killer — or die trying.

Detective Blake Stone has been looking for a woman like Jennifer Brennan his entire life. Now that he's found her, can he convince her to trust again?

Two detectives race against time to find the killer before he strikes again. It is the most important case of their careers. It could be their last.

That definitely sounds intriguing. Where can readers find your books?

Deadly Offerings:

Kindle:  amzn.com/B006QD261G 

Nook:  http://tinyurl.com/cnbzlgc

iTunes:   http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/deadly-offerings/id496491476?mt=11

Deadly Deception:

http://amzn.com/B0087WZBS4

Deadly Relations:

Amazon U.S. http://amzn.com/B009EJ1BDS

Amazon U.K. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009EJ1BDS

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/237887

Lastly, where can readers find you?

Website: http://www.alexa-grace.net/

Email:  Alexagrace@cfl.rr.com

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

YouTube: Deadly Offerings on YouTube

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AlexaGrace2

WattPad: http://wattpad.com/AlexaGrace

Thanks so much for being here today, Alexa. All the best with Deadly Relations.

Focused Writing

Book in a Week (BIAW). National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). What do they have in common? A dedicated, focused time to write. I’ve read references to the two events, heard people talking about them but never tried them. Do they work?

Is it possible to write a book in a week? 50,000 words in a month? From the popularity of these two events, the concept seems to attract a lot of people. I wonder if it’s the idea of setting a goal and attempting to reach it. Earlier this year, I blogged about goal setting. When I set a goal, write down my intentions, I’m often successful. One thing I never tried until recently was tracking how many words I write each day. That was a revelation. I can tell at a glance my good days. Obviously, I can tell the bad ones, too. Worse, I have a record of the days when I let life interfere and didn’t write at all. Does it help to be accountable for the number of words you’ve written each day? I know I do better when I have something to shoot for.

One of the instructions for BIAW is not to reread what you’ve written. Just keep going forward. For people like me who do circular writing—write, go back, revise/add/delete, write, go back, etc.—BIAW would be difficult. At the same time, it would force me to keep moving the story forward. Sometimes, I can actually do that. When I’m “in the zone”, the words flow. So as not to stop the flow, I’ll write notes to myself instead of going back and “fixing” something. I noticed that’s one of the instructions for BIAW.

When I taught journaling to elementary kids, I told them the pencil couldn’t come off the paper. Even if they couldn’t think of something, they had to keep writing even if it was nonsense like “I can’t think of anything to write” until something came to them. One of the suggestions from BIAW for when you get stuck is to skip to the next scene. Just keep writing. Some of us linear thinkers would have a hard time writing out of sequence. Maybe that’s what we need to get us out of ruts.

Another suggestion from BIAW is to warn the family that you are going to do this. In a perfect world, our families support us. They don’t interrupt our writing time. They handle their own problems without us. Pardon me while I laugh. Oh, they mean well, but apparently you’re the only one who knows where the peanut butter/favorite shirt/homework is. You’re the only one who knows how to cook/do laundry/drive to soccer practice. Our families don’t mean to, but they can sabotage our writing. But what if it was only for a week? Would they treat us differently if they see we’re very serious about reaching a goal? If they can do it for a week, it might be possible to keep their support going.

To succeed with BIAW or NaNoWriMo, I would think you’d need a plan—besides the goal of a book or 50,000 words. I can drive fast on expressways (okay, within speed limits). Just because I can drive 2,000 miles in three days it doesn’t necessarily mean I go anywhere. Because of the interconnectivity of expressways in my state, I could conceivably drive 2,000 miles in giant circles and never leave Michigan. I need a map, directions and the place I want to reach. To utilize the BIAW or NaNoWriMo effectively it makes sense to have a rough plot, some structure. Otherwise, at the end of the week or month, you could have a lot of words, not necessarily a novel.

If indeed you write 50,000 words in a month, you could have the “bones” of a novel. You’ll need to go back and flesh it out—layer in characterization, setting, dialogue, whatever. But you would have a framework, which is more than you had before you started.

So, I’m curious. Have you ever attempted either BIAW or NaNoWriMo? What was your experience?

Tomorrow, I’ll be over at Krystal Shannan’s blog http://krystalshannan.blogspot.com  Stop by and say hi.

On Thursday, Florida author Alexa Grace will be my guest here.

Meet Lynn Cahoon

Today, I’d like to introduce you to St. Louis author Lynn Cahoon. I met Lynn through an amazing group called Authors Helping Authors. As many of you know, I seriously rooted for the Cardinals last year for two reasons—my mom was from St. Louis and they beat the Rangers in the playoffs against the Detroit Tigers. Yay, St. Louis.

Lynn, please tell us about yourself.

The official version? Lynn Cahoon is a contemporary romance author with a love of hot, sexy men, real and imagined. Her alpha heroes range from rogue witch hunters to modern cowboys. And her heroines all have one thing in common, their strong need for independence. Or at least that’s what they think they want. 

Other than that, I work a day job, listen to books on cd on an hour commute – best invention ever! – and play wife to my husband of four years when I’m not attached to my computer.  I’m the mom of a born-to-love-Seattle son and two Pomeranians who believe my role in life is to take them for a walk. And buy the dog food.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been a storyteller, but I only told the stories to myself. I’d imagine what if… and by the time I was done, I’d slayed the dragon, found the treasures, and won the heart of the prince.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

When I’m writing? I’m always writing. I have so many books started, waiting for me to get time to schedule them in. I heard Shannon Butcher talk once and she mentioned she knows what she’s writing for the next two years. I can see how you’d get there. I’m doing a third (at least) book in both of my series that debuted this year. The second books are already written and The Bull Rider’s Manger is sold. My other editor is reading Return of the Fae, the second in the A Member of the Council series. Currently, I’m writing a cozy mystery I started at the beginning of the year before I sold the two romances.

So, back to the question – I try to (and yes, Yoda, there is a try…) write first thing in the am before I drive to work. Then again at night until I reached 1000 words. If I wasn’t working on a self-imposed deadline (I want to enter the cozy into a mystery contest October 15^th), my word count goal would be lower – 500 words. Weekends I double that.

Great output, even if you didn’t have a full-time day job. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

See answer above. Honestly, I spend way too much time on the computer. Both at work or at home writing, reading, marketing, tweeting… all that stuff. But I have a five year plan. At the end of that, I hope to be writing full time which will allow me to do other things with my ‘free’ time.

What does your family think of your writing?

Again, see answer above.

Just kidding. My husband is very supportive, even jabbing me when I’ve been slacking a bit and not writing. He sees my success as a way to fish full time. My adult son has been amazingly supportive. And I’ve gotten a lot of support from more distant relatives. However I still get the comments about writing a ‘real’ book.

Can’t please everyone! LOL

Isn’t that the truth. How do you come up with ideas?

Ideas are everywhere. My accountability partner says I have Bright and Shiny Disease, I’m always talking about how this or that would be a great story. When my husband and I went to Cincinnati for a baseball game, we walked through Fountain Square. In the middle is this big fountain (duh) but a woman is perched high on the top of the fountain, her arms outstretched with water flowing out of her open hands.

At the time, I was plotting the second book in my magic series – A Member of the Council. I knew a few things. I knew the two main characters were going on a quest to seek out Coven X and Parris’ family. I knew the bad guy would fall in love with a minor character and get her pregnant. But I didn’t know what they were looking for, where they would go, or why. So I kept bouncing ideas off my husband. When I saw the statue, I knew she’d be part of the story. When I got home, I started writing. My editor’s reading the book right now. I hope she loves it as much as I do.

The city hall building will be in a book somewhere, sometime.

I love that term “Bright and Shiny Disease”. I think I have it, too. LOL What is the single most important part of writing for you?

Remembering it’s my story, even through all the revision processes. I let my characters take me on their journey, good or bad, they run the show. And I know, others are going to say, You’re the writer, not your characters, but when a scene isn’t working for me, usually it’s because I wanted something to happen and my characters either aren’t there yet, or don’t want to do it.

A few days ago, while I walked at my morning break, I thought about my WIP and the young woman (Christina) who’s staying with Mia, my main character. Christina’s got a secret and I thought I’d revealed it during a late night conversation in the last chapter. I thought maybe I needed to go back and fix that, since I’m only on chapter six. While I walked, I realized that the reveal was a lie. Christina isn’t talking to her estranged mom, she’s been sent there on a quest from her brother – Mia’s ex.

Are your stories driven by plot or character?

Definitely character. I’ll start with a character or a setting and think, who is this person? Why is she showing up in my head? What’s her story? Sometimes they even tell me.

How do you balance a life outside of writing with deadlines and writing muses?

Can I say not well? I’m driven. So I work until I burn out and then I sit and eat potato chips and watch Tivo’d shows until I bore myself back to my own stories. Mostly I just try to keep going and doing a little at a time – that gives me momentum.

Tell us about your latest book.

I’m writing a cozy mystery set in a small mountain town in Idaho next to the famous Sun Valley. I love writing about home as well as mixing in history of an area to give readers a taste of the glamour years when all the stars visited for ski vacations. And, my main character loves to cook. So I get my foodie on while I’m writing. Of course there’s a touch of romance mixed in, just because everyone deserves the chance at a happy ever after. My characters are a lot like me in that way, when they are working out a problem in their heads, they keep their hands busy, creating a new version of a treat. A few days ago, I made spicy sausage potato soup for dinner, mostly because my writing was giving me fits.

Here’s the blurb about Lynn’s current book, The Bull Rider’s Brother:

On a girl's night out, Lizzie Hudson finds herself comparing her life as a single mom with her best friend's successful career when James Sullivan, the cowboy who got away, walks his Justin Ropers back into her life.

Seeing him shakes Lizzie's world but James is in for an even more eventful weekend: he learns he has a son. James has enough on his plate trying to manage his brother's bull riding career. Can he learn to redefine family and become part of Lizzie's life before she gives up on him and marries another?

And a teaser excerpt from The Bull Rider’s Brother

“I’ll be there in a minute.” James knelt down next to the kid. He had a new straw hat. Staring at the sheep, James picked up a piece of straw and put it in his mouth like a toothpick.

The kid watched James and mirrored his actions. He, too, picked up a piece of straw and started chewing.

James grinned. “You riding tonight?”

“Yep.”

“First time?”

“Yep. Gramps bought me a new hat. He says I’m big enough.”

“I rode at your age.” James laid his arms on the rails of the pen.

“You did?” The boy cast a glance downward and away, kicking the dirt with his toe before he asked, “Were you scared?”

“Heck, yeah. I worried I’d fall. Then I was scared I’d make a fool of myself and bawl my eyes out.” James peered at the barn toward where his brother stood talking to group of men. “I didn’t want my brother to tease me.”

“My mom doesn’t know. Gramps said it was our secret.” The kid bent his head towards one of the men talking to Jesse. “Do you think it’s okay to have a secret from your mom?”

“As long as it’s a good secret. Is she coming to the rodeo? Will she be here to watch you?”

“Yep. Gramps says she’ll shit a brick when she sees me.” The boy grinned.

“She probably will.” James laughed and held out his hand. “I’m James.”

“I’m JR.” The boy shook his hand, stood up from his crouch and headed toward the men near Jesse. Turning around, he called, “Are you going to the parade?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“I’ll see you then. They throw lots of candy and you even get an ice cream cone at the end.” He waved and took off at a run. When he reached the crowd around Jesse, he grabbed an older man by the knees.

       Now that’s love.

Buy link – http://www.amazon.com/The-Bull-Riders-Brother-ebook/dp/B008195C2I 

Or Print - http://www.amazon.com/Bull-Riders-Brother-Lynn-Cahoon/dp/1440544603

Or Nook - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bull-riders-brother-lynn-cahoon/1110496092?ean=9781440544590

Love the excerpt. What a guy! Thanks so much, Lynn, for being here today. Before you go, where can readers find you?

My website and blog –A Fairy Tale Life- at www.lynncahoon.wordpress.com

Or FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor

Or Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon

Dialogue vs. Description

Which is better? Dialogue or description. Okay, they aren’t really opponents. Each has its function. Without dialogue, we would have endless pages of description. Remember the “classics” we had to read in school? The ones from the 1800s, where paragraphs went on for over a page—complete description, little dialogue. Bo-ring, right? On the other hand, without description, we would have talking heads. No idea where the characters are or what they are doing. Disconcerting.

So, how do we achieve a balance? Perhaps the better question is what is the reader’s expectation? In an action-adventure novel, the reader expects action. Short, punchy sentences. Brief dialogue. Short paragraphs. In a contemplative novel, one expects longer, more in-depth descriptions. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t do both in the same novel. All action leaves the reader breathless. Even action heroes need downtime. Romance novels require the characters to talk to each other, along with mood-setting descriptions. I cannot imagine a fantasy novel, with all its glorious descriptions of a magical place, not having characters who speak.

Last week, in my post on Autumn, I mentioned that descriptions in a good part of Switched were fairly easy to write. Fall in Michigan bombards the senses. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch. When we incorporate the senses in stories, readers are grounded in reality. Because they have had similar experiences, they can identify with the characters, plunging them deeper into the story.

So, how many of you have ridden in a starship? Well, neither have I. No surprise there. The trick with writing science fiction, sci-fi romance or fantasy is in the details. It’s the little things that count applies to writing as much as it does to a good marriage. We build this fantastical world out of our imagination, but it has similarities to our real world. By hitting on those similarities, we make our world believable. The starship in the Switched series has a gray-carpeted hall. We all recognize industrial carpeting from offices, banks, businesses. Throughout the ship, there’s a continuous hum from the engines that the crew is so used to they don’t hear it. Riding in a car or plane is a close match. We hear when something is amiss, as Jessie does in Switched, but if the engine is running smoothly we take it for granted.

As I’ve mentioned in every interview, I’m a pantser—I write by the seat of the pants—not a plotter. An idea comes and I run with it. The story plays out like a movie in my head. Since I like action-adventure movies, my stories usually begin with action. Switched, Too begins “Emergency Alert!” Boom. Throws the reader right into the middle of a crisis. Or, I’ll begin with provocative dialogue. Switched 3 (no title yet) begins “I want to meet my mother.” Doesn’t that beg a question? Whichever way a story begins, the point is to hook the reader whether s/he picks the book up off the shelf and reads the first page or clicks on “Look inside” for a preview on Amazon.

Dialogue is easier for me to write than descriptions because I hear the characters speak. (Sure hope my kids aren’t reading this. They’ll put me in a home for sure.) As the story unfolds, I concentrate more on what the characters say and do, not where they are exactly. My first draft is pretty bare bones. Dialogue and stage directions, some internal dialogue. Then, I go back and layer in descriptions. Actually, I do a lot of back and forth writing. I’ve heard it called circular writing—write for a while, go back and add, write more, go back, etc. Those writers who plot first are probably groaning at what they consider wasted time. I say, whatever works.

Let me rephrase my original question. Which do you prefer to read/write—dialogue or description? Or does it matter?