Spring into Romance Blog Hop

I was invited by Amy Durham to participate in the Spring into Romance Blog Hop. Amy is a wife and mother, an author of YA books, a teacher, an avid reader, and a musician. If she wasn’t writing books, she’d be a celebrity chef! To learn more about Amy, please click here. You can visit Amy's Amazon page here. I met Amy in Orlando in 2010 at a RWA Conference, I meet the wonderful people at conferences and Amy is one of the best!

Let's get started on the questions that Amy has asked me to answer.
What am I working on?
I'm in the final edits on Four Sisters. This book will be released in June, not sure of the exact date yet. This story is very special to me, I've been working on it for years. I believe this is the longest I've worked on any project. It has to be more than perfect. The emotion has to be just right. It's not a suspense or a romance. It's different than anything I've ever written. Her is a blurb:

The early sixties was a time of making love, not war. Kathleen finds love and starts a war with her family.

Four Sisters is a story rich in the relationships of Kathleen Williams' life. Kathleen discovers her sexuality in the sixties. She's different from other girls her age and afraid her sisters, especially her closest sister, Deborah, will never understand.

When Kathleen reveals her love for a woman, her worst fears are realized—she’s banished from her home and family.

Forty odd years later, Kathleen is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Susan, her lifelong partner, encourages her to make peace with her family. Kathleen's journey, now, includes rebuilding her relationship with her sisters and parents, as well as the battle of her life. Her only chance for peace is to find acceptance.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I'm sure every author wants their work to be unique and fresh. Because that is how I would answer this question. I know my characters as if they're family. And I always have a twist or something in the plot I believe is new. That being said, I have no idea if I accomplish my goal because, there are so many authors and books and genres, and sub genres, I can't possiblity keep up on everything to actually know the plot or twist has never been used. Yet I hope this is true of my work.

Why do I write what I do? I don't set out to write romance, suspense, thrillers, young adult, or women's fiction, etc. I have, as many other authors have, a notebook in my person at all times. And it is filled with snippets of ideas for stories. Sometimes I know what that snippet is and sometimes I do not. When I set out to write the next book of a series, as with the Becketts, I know it's going to be suspense and/or thriller, with a bit of romance mixed in. As for my other stories, sometimes I'm into the story for a while before I know what direction it's going to go. I have been working on a story with my grandsons, it is middle grade and from the start has been. Hopefully, I've answer the question. Why do I write what I do? I have no flippin clue.

How does my writing process work? Whenever I can find a minute. Basically that's it. I have a day job that takes up 40 hours a week, then public transit takes up another 20 hours a week. Add to that, cooking, cleaning, and family. That leaves a nano-second for writing and/or editing. And also not much time to have a process. Back in the day when I actually stayed home to write--which I thought would be forever--I wrote by the seat of my pants. So it's a good thing that has continued over. If I had to plot out the chapters, have a story board, and/or build a world my writing days would be over. I would write a book every ten years. Luckily, though, I still write as I go. I usually have about two pages of backstory with a general idea of where the story is going. I meet my characters and then go from there. They guide me the rest of the way. And with all the other things I have on my plate it does take a bit of time to write, edit, and polish a book.

If you would like to know more about me, check my Web site, or Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, and Goodreads. Thank you, Amy for inviting me to your hop!

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