Writing Process Blog Hop!

 

Hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day so far. Welcome to my blog. My lovely friend, Yolanda Isabel Regueira Marin, has invited me to participate in a writing process blog hop. Yolanda is a very talented poet and writer, and you can read and enjoy her work in her blog: Life Love and Other Catastrophes. Please check out her poems, you will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

RULES:

 

1. Introduce who referred the blog tour to you.
2.  Answer the following 4 questions:

1) What am I working on?

2) How does my work differ from others in its genre?

3) Why do I write what I do?

4) How does my writing process work?

3. Introduce the people you’re passing this on to who will then post a week later.

 

 

***Since I have participated in the Writing Process Blog Hop a couple of times already I decided to change the questions up a little for the sake of not boring my readers to death. Those of you who will continue this blog hop can of course answer the original questions listed above. You can check out my other blog hops here and here. Thanks!

1- Is there a certain type of scene that’s harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?

I find romantic scenes particularly challenging, even more so than erotic ones. I believe it’s because to me, a romantic gesture should be touching, extraordinary and enchanting in order to feel genuine—otherwise it’s just another cheesy line in a story. When I write a romantic scene, I want the reader—whether male or female—to stop and savor the moment. That’s very difficult to do, and I wish I could say that I always achieve that.

2- Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?

I would never write about my family or friends because instead of a non-fiction novel, it would turn out to be a comedy/horror novel. Ha, ha! Just kidding!

3- Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?

Oh, boy! I remember when I published my first book, The Basement. I was getting all great reviews, and then I received my first dreaded two-star review. I felt like my world was collapsing around me. I was saddened, disappointed, and angry—all because of this one review. To add insult to injury, the person did not even have the decency to tell me why he gave me such a low rating. Well, I ranted and raved about it. I didn’t know any better. It was my first published book. I still couldn’t believe I had written a full-length novel or that I got it published, and I became very emotional about this insignificant, wordless review. I finally contacted the reviewer, which I know now never to do, and asked him why he gave me a two-star review. “What was it about the book you didn’t like?” I asked. Do you know what he told me? (Of course you don’t.) He told me not to take it personally. He said he had a friend whose book was in the same category as mine, and I was a slot ahead of him on the Goodreads list. What? I didn’t even respond to such nonsense.

Well, since then I have learned a great deal. Most reviewers will give you a good explanation as to why they’ve given you a good or bad review, and you can learn from their critique. Whether you choose to read the reviews or not, just remember that not everyone is going to like your book, no matter how good it may be. There are books that I absolutely loved that received several terrible reviews. Even novels from my favorite writers—Anne Rice, Stephen King, Dan Brown . . . And there have been books that I just couldn’t finish because they bored me silly, which have gotten great reviews from other readers who did enjoy them.

4- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Sitting next to Ridley Scott or Wolfgang Petersen, the director of a movie based on one of my epic fantasies, at the Academy Awards. All joking aside, I hope to still have the passion and drive to write, and to still be writing novels.

5- How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

I think names are very important—at least the names of your main character and other important characters. For my novel The Basement, I did a Google search for the most popular names for kids between the ages of 11-13, since those were the ages of the kids in the story and also the audience the book was aimed at.

For the first book in my Fantasy Angels Series, The Fall of Lilith, I did some research in the Bible, Torah, and Quran and books related to those, about angels and their names.

6- What are you working on now? What is your next project?

I’m about to begin querying my second book, The Fall of Lilith, which is the first installment in my Fantasy Angels Series (Adult/Dark Fantasy). However, I’ve been really torn about whether to spend all the time required to query the book and get representation, and then a publisher, or to just publish it on my own. If you have advice on this issue, it would be greatly appreciated.

I’m also busy writing the second installment of the series, Dracul (working title).

 

 

Look for the Blog Hop to continue soon at these sites: 

 

Alana Munro – Alana is known as ‘The Author Who Supports’, and for good reason. She’s been a kind and supportive friend to me since I started my blog a little over a year ago. As if that weren’t enough she is a huge talent. Her book, Women Behaving Badly is a #1 bestseller on Amazon. I read the book, and not only did it entertain me, but it also taught me a few lessons. Isn’t that awesome? What more can you ask from a book? She also writes insightful, interesting and informative posts on her blog: Alana Munro – Author & Blogger Check it out!

Author Alana Munro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chantal Bellehumeur – Chantal is an amazing woman. She’s a talented horror writer, artist, and model. Her book Just Another Common Killer is on my to-read list. Check out her website here.

Horror Author Chantal Bellehumeur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lorraine Marie Reguly – Lorraine is one of the hardest working writers I know. She’s also a blogger that blogs about writing and other subjects, teacher, and editor. Lets just say I’ve learned a few things from her. Check out her blog Laying it Out There, check out her eBook Risky Issues, and also stay tuned for author Lorraine Reguly’s Spotlight, right here on my blog, coming soon.

Author Lorraine Reguly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As readers, do you enjoy reading about how writers work? Who’s your favorite writer, and why? What types of books do you read? What genre?