What Are You Working On?

First I must apologize to my fellow bloggers for having been MIA in June. I was behindhand all month due to working on what is now my latest book, so July's topic is particularly pertinent.

This month the question is: what book (or type of book) are you currently working on? Do you have ideas for future books?

  

I have just typed THE END on Book 3 in my Berkeley Square Regency romance series. When I started writing Book 1, I had no idea that it would expand beyond that. It wasn’t even Book 1 at that point, just an idea for a Regency romance that wouldn’t go away, but that’s what happens when characters almost jump off the page and demand their own books.

Okay, okay. Not literally, of course. It’s just one of those quirky turns of phrase that writers tend to bandy about. Non-writers just don’t get the concept of having people wandering around in your head and whispering in your ear from the inside out. My heroine in Book 1, His Dark Enchantress is Emmeline Devereux, whose best friend is Lady Juliana Clifton. Juliana intruded so much while I was writing His Dark Enchantress that I gave her a book of her own, Book 2, His Ocean Vixen.

Believing I had done with those characters, I started thinking about what else I could write, but a reader query asking if Lady Rosemary Darnley, the villainess in Book 1, ever got her comeuppance, started me on another path which led to Book 3, His Unexpected Muse. This involves the unexpected (as the title suggests) romance between Lady Olivia Darnley (Rosemary’s daughter) and Lord Peter Skeffington, both characters from Book 1. You’ll have to read the book, which will be launched next month, to find out what happens to Lady Darnley.

So what comes next? I have an idea for a new series on Regency belles (hmm, now that could work as a series title) and already have a rough outline for Book 1. It will mean more research, but that is the part I really like. Plus, why let all the research I have already done go to waste?

Take a look at what my fellow Round Robin authors have in the works by clicking on their links.

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1EW
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

Our first Round Robin blog for 2019 asks: How do you develop different personalities in your main characters? How about secondary characters? Do you have a favorite secondary character or one who has moved on into their own story?

I just love building characters and use several techniques for developing them once they have introduced themselves to me. That might sound odd, but I see my characters and know their names and physical details before I even start writing. But for ‘the rest of the story?’ Ah. That’s where the character building and developing comes in.

My first go-to is to give them a birthday. From that, I use their astrological signs to determine their strengths and weaknesses. I don’t necessarily include their birthdates in my text, I just get to know them better and definitely pay attention to their weaknesses as this is often where I find my characters’ flaws. If my characters have siblings, I’ll refer to The Birth Order Book to see what else I might discover about them depending on where they come in their family's line-up. I do a character interview, and this can be a surprising exercise as I find totally unexpected aspects of my characters, which all add up to a more rounded, fully three-dimensional character.

One of my secondary characters was Lady Juliana Clifton from my first Regency title, His Dark Enchantress. She was my hero’s sister and kept intruding at every turn, especially when Lord

Clifton’s love interest, Emmaline, was on the page. I think there might have been some rivalry going on there, each vying for His Lordship’s attention! Once I promised Juliana her own book, she went away. She got her own book, His Ocean Vixen, the second book in my Berkeley Square series. The third book in the series, His Unexpected Muse, will be released this coming March and again, the characters featured are secondary characters from the first book, Lady Olivia Darnley and Lord Peter Skeffington.

The characters who populate our pages are with us for far longer than it takes to write the book they feature in, and I know I’m reluctant to let them go. See what these other authors have to say about their characters.

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Helena Fairfax http://helenafairfax.com/blog
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq.1tc
Fiona McGier http://www,fionamcgier.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Connie Vines http;//mizging.blogspot.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com/

What Is Your Preferred Genre and Would You Change It?

Our Round Robin Topic for October is: In what time period do you prefer to set your stories – past, present, or future? What are the problems and advantages of that choice? Would you like to change?

This is a topic that caught my attention right away. Some writers stick to just one genre whether it be romance, thrillers, cozy mysteries, sci-fi, or whatever. Although I mostly write Regency romance, I also like the Edwardian period of history but set my last book, Brides of Banff Springs, in the more recent historical era of 1935.

I never set out to write historical anything. My first attempt at a novel was a western contemporary romance. Knowing nothing about ranches or rodeos meant I had to do quite a lot of research, and that fascinated me. There was no internet or Google in 1998 which meant trips to the library, phone calls and fax requests to cowboys, ranchers, and stock contractors. One lead led to another and I became a regular visitor to the then Western Heritage Centre in Cochrane, Alberta, which had the most amazing archives and a wonderfully knowledgeable archivist.

It wasn’t long before I had more material than I could ever use. Discussing this wealth of information with a workshop presenter, I was told to first ‘write the damn book’ and then decide what portions of my treasure trove to drop in it. That approach just did not work for me and I let that novel go because I made such a mess of it.

But the research bug had bitten and it wasn’t long before I attempted my first Regency. I have to say that, having grown up with my all-time favorite author, Georgette Heyer, it was more an homage to her than anything else. However, because there are strong elements of adventure in it, I’ve been told it’s not true Regency romance.

I have also had it pointed out to me on more than one occasion that by swapping my genre I am cheating my readers as they have come to expect the Regencies from me. That may be so to some degree but, in all honesty, I get bored. Just as I don’t always want to read Regency romances, I don’t want to write them either.

I have never wanted to be pigeon-holed in life which has made for a very varied work history. I’ve carried this into my writing as, if I’m bored with what I’m writing, it’s going to show which is not good for me or my readers. There is also the aspect of writing different genres under pseudonyms. Nora Roberts, born Eleanor Marie Robertson, writes as J.D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty. Jayne Ann Krentz writes under seven different names including Amanda Quick and Jayne Taylor. I have enough trouble writing as one person, let alone working with other personas.

I am currently working on the third novel in my Berkeley Square Regency series. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, but what comes next will be a completely different beast as I am contemplating writing women’s fiction. As writers, although we have much to thank all our readers for ultimately we have to be true to ourselves for our best work to emerge. If that means mixing it up from one genre to another wherever and whenever the story is set, then so be it. After all, it’s the story that really matters.

Check out what these fine authors have to say on the subject.

Marie Laval http://marielaval.blogspot.co.uk/
Anne de Gruchy https://annedegruchy.co.uk/category/blog/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-14G
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Heidi M. Thomas http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com