Hey, romance readers!

I’m pleased to be included in an ongoing blog hop about the writing process. The baton was passed to me by the lovely author Reese Ryan, a fellow member of my RWA chapter, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

Reese Ryan writes sexy, contemporary fiction filled with colorful characters and sinfully-sweet romance. She secretly enjoys torturing her heroines with family and career drama, reformed bad boys, revealed secrets, and the occasional identity crisis, but always rewards them with a happily ever after. 

You can find out more about Reese at her website and check out LOVE ME NOT, a Bad Boys Gone Good book.

Reese, and all of the authors who are taking part in this blog hop answered four questions. They aren’t easy questions, but interesting ones. Let’s see what I learn about myself as I answer!

1. What am I currently working on?

Okay…that question isn’t too hard. :) I’m working on books two and three in the VARIOUS STATES OF UNDRESS series for Avon Impulse. (Book one, CAROLINA, released on May 27.) I’m editing VIRGINIA (book two) and writing GEORGIA (book three). Virginia and Georgia are Carolina’s sisters. All three books are set in different states, and none of those states have anything to do with the sisters’ names. I haven’t confused myself…yet. :) You can check out more about the series at my website: www.laurasimcox.com

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

At the very core, my contemporary romances are amusing, sexy and natural. My heroines and heroes have fun falling in love. My couples aren’t overly agonized and they find joy as they find themselves and their soul mates. If you like romantic comedy movies, then you’ll probably like my books. (Except in my books, there are, ah, actual sex scenes. :) )

3. Why do I write what I do?

Being entertained is very important to me. That sounds trite and a little bit selfish, maybe, but I’m one of those people who HAS to have down time…’me’ time…in order to be a pleasant, productive person to be around. Generally, this means hanging out with my husband in the evenings, relaxing and watching funny movies. It also means reading romance novels, something I’ve done since I was twelve years old. I write romance novels to entertain myself, and hopefully to entertain others. I’m not trying to change the world–I’m only trying to make it more fun, more romantic and less stressful.

4. How does my writing process work.

Oh boy. I knew there was a hard question!!! Okay…here’s where the nerd in me comes out like a vicious, rabid raccoon. This is what I do, folks, and I’ll preface this by saying that my brain doesn’t wrap around Scrivener or other writing organization programs. I wish it did, but it refuses. So:

–I do a bunch of highly organized online research. (I won’t bore you with the details, but just know that I create folders and subfolders in my favorites and my picture files.)

–I write a rough synopsis of the book, trying my best to keep conflict at the forefront, and NOT whatever practical joke I want the heroine to play on the hero. During this process, I really get to know and fall in love with my characters.

–I fix the synopsis and do paragaph outlines of scenes.

–I open up one of those forms in Word and create a fake calendar, so that I can keep track of the timeline of the book. Then as I write, I insert scenes on dates. (It’s tedious, but I learned the hard way…combing through 95,000 words after the fact, finding out that when the heroine mentions Friday of next week and it ends up being Monday of the week after, which throws the rest of the book off and the 4th of July is actually the 15th? Yeah. Painful.)

–Then I force myself to stop tinkering around. I create desktop shortcuts for the synopsis, the calendar and the manuscript in progress. I put them front and center, so when I’m tempted to check social media instead of writing, my book is staring me in the FACE.

–I write whole scenes in one sitting if I can help it. Generally, this means that my butt is parked for about three-four hours at a time. Then I walk away for an hour or so, come back, and read it. I edit it. I make notes in the synopsis as to what has shifted in the story, since my brain and fingers generally produce a few things that weren’t originally intended.

–The next day I do it again. And I keep doing the above until I have a book. Then I read the whole thing, fix what I think are weak spots, and I turn it in to my editor (on time, because I’m a nerd) and then I cross my fingers, hope she likes it, and wait.

That’s my process! It’s probably very similar to other authors’ processes, but I’m always looking to improve, and if you’re a writer, you might be, too. So I’m passing the baton to three more contemporary romance authors. Next week, check out what they have to say! They are:

MICHELE SUMMERS, whose debut FIND MY WAY HOME releases in July from Sourcebooks.

Michele Summers writes funny romances set in small Southern towns with sassy heroines, witty heroes and wacky, small-town characters, along with a satisfying happily ever after. Michele started her fiction writing career after Hurricane Wilma hit Miami and she was without power for over a week. Bored to tears, she scrounged for a legal pad and pen, and with the help of a trusty flashlight, started writing. Thrilled to have found another creative outlet, she’s been writing ever since, when she’s not working as an interior designer, personal chef, playing tennis, or raising her two great kids. Presently,she resides in North Carolina where she grew up with her family, but she still miss sunny South Florida, swaying palm trees and wearing open-toed shoes…everyday! 

Visit her at: www.michelesummers.com

MARISA CLEVELAND, who is an author for Entangled Publishing and writes both contemporary and paranormal romance. Check out her SOUTH BEACH series, and visit her at www.marisacleveland.com

Marisa Cleveland loves to laugh, hates to cry, and does both often. As a writer, she writes. Every day. If she couldn’t express herself through writing, music, and dance, she would die. She believes romance novels are the perfect “how to” books, because no matter the obstacles, the characters keep working toward their happily ever after.

CODI GARY, whose popular GOOD GIRLS series is earning rave reviews. She is an Avon Impulse author and you can find her at www.codigarysbooks.com

An obsessive bookworm, Codi Gary likes to write sexy small-town contemporary romances with humor, grand gestures, and blush-worthy moments. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading her favorite authors, squealing over her must-watch shows, and playing with her children. She lives in Idaho with her family.