Why is it I can spot other people’s typos at a glance, but am totally blind to my own?

What drives you crazy?

Writing a series lets me revisit old friends, plus I already know at least a little bit about the hero and heroine. There’s still plenty of unexplored depths to plummet–this keeps life interesting.

For pretty much all the same reasons I love reading romance series, I love writing them.

What do you think, are series inherently better than single title books? Do you get bored after a number of books in the same series> If so, How many books in the same series are too many?

While researching A Very Demon Halloween, I ran across this charming scene created by Daniel Maclise in 1833. The painting, Snap-Apple Night, was inspired by a Halloween party he’d attended in Blarney.

What made you smile today?

If all I needed to do was write life would be simpler. Prior to getting published, writing (and the occasional submission) was all I did.

I spent lots of years working in the corporate world, so I know there’s more to running a successful business than creating a great product or providing excellent service. Yet I never considered how much time the administrative end of writing took.

Record keeping, accounting, legal, promotion, marketing, editing, customer service, quality control, and sales are all part of the romance writer dream job description.

Whew, I’m tired just thinking about it.

How’s your job going?

The story took off! So far they always have, but that doesn’t stop me from panicking when I’m trying to coax clues out of Swampy.
I knew there had to be more to Belinda than her lovely body and beautiful face. All I had to go on were snippets from her appearance in A Very Demon Christmas.

“Don’t you just hate it when they get all masterful?” Belinda asked.

The beautiful brunette reappeared, and her lovely alto teased, “The fairy-tale wicked witch could be the real me. With glamours it’s impossible to tell.”

The snippet above gave me a few hints, then, I clung to something Colin mentioned in the same story.

“Belinda isn’t exactly one hundred percent human. Don’t ask, because I don’t know what else she is. That’s none of my business.”

Not a lot to go on, but Dommes are no easier to pry information out of than Doms.

Last week’s post had an image of Duec’s essence. The match looks a little unequal to me too. So far Belinda quite firmly mentioned the naked part and the riding crop are not even remotely her. She prefers black leather clothes and Egyptian floggers. I’m waiting for a few more details and trying not panic over how fast my deadline is approaching.

How’s your job going?

Long before the opening sentence the adventure begins in my head with the characters. I have to understand who they are before I can begin to tell their story. I usually start with the heroine, since they’re more reasonable and chattier.

Not this time.

Duec is loud and demanding and not interested in my preferences. Again, not a big surprise. Picture me sort of sucked into his tailwind, frantically scribbling notes…

How’s your job going?

Where do I draw the line between persistence and sheer stupidity? I’ve asked that question about every book in my backlist somewhere during the unfinished manuscript stage. I still don’t know the answer.

What I have learned is that, I can’t sell a story unless it’s finished. I can’t even make a single page of a story better until it’s actually written.

Here’s what Stephen King (one my heroes) said about quitting:

If you’re not talented, you won’t succeed. And if you’re not succeeding, you should know when to quit.

When is that? I don’t know. It’s different for each writer. Not after six rejection slips, certainly, nor after sixty. But after six hundred? Maybe. After six thousand? My friend, after six thousand pinks, it’s time you tried painting or computer programming.

You can read his whole essay; Everything You Need To Know About Writing by clicking the link.

Here’s more advice from Writer Unboxed on The Only Way To Know If You’ll Be A Successful Writer

How do you decide whether to give up on a dream or to keep trying?

In February the second Demon Hunters: A Very Demon Valentine’s Day released.

In the weird time warp of publishing I’m working on the third installment in the series: A Very Demon Halloween. Every demon hunter wants his own story, but there’s no guarantee the tasteful editor will want more, so I had to decide whose story to pitch. I went with Duec. He’s the loudest, the biggest, the baddest, and he scares me the most.

How’s your job going?

The latest dangerously sexy couple found their way to a happy for now. Contemporary romance was a rough ride!

Even though I wrote my favorite words, the end, on the manuscript, it’s not over. Until a book is released there’s always more to do.

Before any of my imaginary friends were published, I questioned my sanity and commitment to write frequently. I still do, except now my doubts are centered on each story that consumes endless hours with me hunched over the keyboard.

This last adventure was harder to write than most. I wanted to quit a lot, yet somewhere before the end, I fell in love right along with them and I already miss them. Maybe I’ll get to revisit their world someday.

I don’t have a clue whether my feelings, good, bad or meh make the book better or worse. If I’m lucky, the gracious editor will have an opinion and suggestions and someday readers will let me know what they think.

Now I’m hanging out with a bunch of unhappy demons .

How’s your day going?