Dianne Touchell has tagged me in the Writing Process blog hop. I ‘met’ Dianne online after reading a great review in a Perth newspaper about her book Creepy and Maud. The review immediately intrigued me, so I bought the book, read it in a sitting and then contacted Dianne (some may say stalked, but, whatever!) Dianne has two more books on the go at the moment, both being published by the prestigious Allen and Unwin, so do look out for those. And I highly recommend Creepy and Maud, it’s YA, and brilliantly done. You can read Dianne’s writing process here: http://diannetouchell.blogspot.com.au/
Let’s do this!
1. What am I working on?
The Gingerbread Cafe series has morphed into a trilogy thanks to requests from readers asking for more. So thank you! After writing the second book in the series, Chocolate Dreams at the Gingerbread Cafe, which has just been released, I’m about to start the third and final book which will be set over Christmas time. I am loath to say goodbye to these characters for good, so in the mean-time I’m working on another novella from Sarah from the bookshop’s point of view. This way I can still keep my eye on Lil and Cee, and of course, Damon. Originally we planned six novellas all with different main characters from the small town of Ashford, so I’ll continue to do that, and then I won’t have to let any of them go for a while!
2. How does my work differ from others of it’s genre?
There are so many characters in each of the novellas there is something that we can all relate to, a life-like situation that we’ve faced more often than not, at one point of our lives. I write people you can imagine yourself being best friends with, people with big hearts who care about their relationships. Like real life though, it’s not always easy, and people need to feel they’re not alone with some of the bigger issues that are explored in these stories.
3. Why do I write what I do?
Pure fun! I write stories that I would read, and hope that it translates on the page. I do have a pseudonym too, Billie Jones, and that’s for my more outlandish pulpy fiction. I like trying new styles, and would never just stick to one. So you’ll find sweet romance under the name Rebecca Raisin, and a mash up of other genres under the name Billie Jones.
4. How does my writing process work?
Well, I’d love to say it’s meticulous, and detailed but that would be a big fat lie. I write Monday through Friday without exception. If the kids are occupied on the weekends, I might sneak some time then too. But usually, it’s four hours most week days.
As the years have gone on I can write faster, and get a better word count, but I don’t get hung up on numbers.
When I write the first draft, it’s usually very quick. It’s like it’s a race against time to pour it onto the page. A manic MUST DO THIS BEFORE THE IDEAS LEAK OUT OF MY BRAIN, type feeling. But then…my favourite part, is going back over the manuscript very slowly, and fixing it. I’ll usually do this a bazillion times before I send it to my editor. Then we go through it together another three times. And at that point, I am well and truly ready to write something new.
I’m tagging fellow Carina Author Annabelle Bryant!
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