Monday, March 17, 2014

My First Blog Tour!

The beautiful and talented Karen at Time Crafted invited me to be the next stop on the writer's blog tour.

I'm excited that she has confidence in me, but at the same time, I have no clue what I'm doing. But here we go!

The theme of this tour is the writing process. Four questions. Four answers. Starting in 5...4...3...

1. What am I working on?

I have several irons in the fire. The next scheduled project to finish is the next in my Trouble series. The Cold Side of Trouble is promised to be released this year and I'm a solid 10 chapters in. I'm also starting another series that is going to be more paranormal urban fantasy than mystery, my usual haunt. Not to mention a few short stories and a flash fiction piece for submission to Write on Edge's 3rd Precipice. And that's just stuff on the front burner. On the back burner? It's pretty hectic.


2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

If I start to compare my work with others, I'm going to get a healthy dose of insecurity. I don't know that my stories differ much from others of the genres they belong to. Other than telling the stories through my voice and vision, and I have a pretty unique view of the world, I don't know how to answer this one.

As far as genre though, I don't stick to one, even within a story. Elements of humor and paranormal and intrigue and history and present day weave through the words I write, but I try to let the characters drive their stories. I think that way, it keeps the situations pretty real, no matter how much fantasy I'm infusing into the plot.

3. Why do I write what I do

I write the stories I want to read, and because nothing beats the feeling of opening the box that UPS or FedEx delivers and finding a dead-tree print copy of a book with my name on it. It's happened to me twice now, and I'm addicted. So I will write and write until UPS and FedEx stop delivering.

4. How does your writing process work?

It doesn't. Not very well at any rate. I'm not nearly as focused as I should be. One thing though, I don't suffer writer's block. Maybe I get stuck in one  story I'm writing. That's okay, I've got others. I cycle through all my stories until I find one that inspires me to keep going. It's slower writing that way I think, and often counter productive, but it keeps me in the habit of writing every day. 

Editing and formatting? Completely different story. I'm aggressive as an editor and I love the process of formatting for publication. So much so, I'm happy to do it for anyone else. Hint, Hint, Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge, Say no more!


Thank you Karen, for letting me be a part of this tour. It was a ton of fun! The next steps of the tour have not yet responded to my emails, so until they do, I will give you over to others in the tour that you might have missed. 

Check out my fellow colleges:

Kirsten Piccini is a gorgeous, gorgeous woman with exceptional talent, and one of the few romance authors I follow. She weaves humor and passion like a master craftsman, and her road to successful publication began with the release of Precipice volume II last year. 

Cameron D Garriepy is a writer am I in constant envy of. She makes crafting setting and memorable characters look easy. Yup, I'm pretty green, but she gives me an ideal to aspire to. 

and stay tuned for more authors coming your way!

6 comments:

  1. Oh, Shel! Thank you. What a lovely, if completely untrue thing to say. I admire your work enormously, and I always think I can learn a trick or two from you, speaking of making it look easy...

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    1. I only speak the truth as I see it Cam. You're an inspiration, no lie. :)

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  2. I can just imagine how addicting that would be to see your words printed on "dead tree" delivered at your door. :>

    So glad you could join in with us!

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    1. Thanks for the invite! I forget sometimes that online people know who I am; I'm pretty isolated most days. This was so much fun! Thanks again.

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  3. Shel, just so you know I actually gasped when I got to the bottom of your tour. I loved reading about how you write, why you write, where your incredible and creative ideas come from.

    I consider you a energy and force in the writing world, I envy your ability to weave words and your unmistakable talent.

    So when I read that you enjoy anything I write, I was floored. Any compliment from you boosts the desire to keep writing, if only to get better and feel worthy of your words.

    Thank you my friend.

    And Shel? Your writing is phenomenal, I feel privileged to read it. Xo

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    1. Surprise! Glad you enjoyed your visit and that I could bring a little sunshine your direction.

      And speaking of sunshine, this is the perfect comment to start my morning. All of the insecurities and the critical voices that fight me in my creative world are worth the struggle for the support of beautiful people like you. I'm blessed and grateful that I can call you friend.

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