 Can I be honest here? Christmas in July is NOT usually my thing.
Summer in TN can be really hot. Way too hot for me to think about Christmas as I'm used to it. That being said, I also can't avoid thinking about Christmas around this time of year. I'm often editing a book set around that time. Or writing one! And, because there are so many people who enjoy celebrating Christmas in the middle of the year, why not join in?
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Are you ready to talk about Christmas books? How do you feel about widows and widowers in your holiday romances? Patti Shene Gonzales is chatting about her inspiration behind her Christmas novella--and it might surprise you. See what you think.  If you’ve suffered the death of a spouse, you are familiar with the crushing sense of loss that darkens the world around you. Everything in your life changes. A piece of you is missing and that hole brings you pain in so many ways, from the subtle to the agonizingly acute.
My husband passed away during open heart surgery. Although the physician had bluntly told me his chances were slim, my optimism soared when three phone calls from the operating room indicated he was stable and the surgery was proceeding as planned. It was the last call that crashed my world when I received the report that he was in cardiac arrest. It should be easier to write a story that's novella-length instead of novel-length, right? My friend Jen Dodrill tells us about her new experience with just such an undertaking. Her new book releases tomorrow, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom to get the full scoop. It sounds like fun!  When Deborah Sprinkle approached me about joining her in a novella collection, I immediately said, “Sure!” How hard could it be writing 25- 30k words compared to more than double that for a novel? (More on that later!) We invited another author, Sharon Carpenter, and we got started. Keep in mind that while Deb has a number of novels under her belt, I’ve published two, and Sharon has written for anthologies.
Deb, Sharon, and I live about thirty minutes from each other, so we met for lunch to kick off the planning process. I think we were there for four hours! This became the norm for us, and Deb would tell our waitress we were renting the table for half the day. We’d leave great tips. 😊 Does birth order truly shape the way people act? My friend Jenny Carlisle believes so. She even takes i so far as to instill those traits into her characters who are middle children. See if this sounds right.
 We're getting so close to the release of Rendersella. Earlier this week, I was finishing up my final read-through. After reading this story so many times, it's hard to catch mistakes because I'm so familiar with what the story says in my head. That can be a problem when you're trying to make a novel as perfect as you can.
That's why I bring in some help. Not a person. I've already had help from other people. Nope. This is when I let my computer read to me.  Do you love stories with a bit of heartache and a whole lot of triumph and love? Well, Kimberly Banet has what you're looking for. Check out this fun interview to find out where she found her inspiration, her location, and even HOW she wrote her first book. You might be surprised! Kim, congratulations on your newest book. Can you tell me what inspired you to write about foster families?
Thank you, Amy! I had a coworker who always fostered teens, and I found that fascinating. She portrayed fostering teens as heartbreaking at times, but also very rewarding at times. Although her stories were nothing like my main character Sam’s experiences, bits and pieces of the heartache and the triumphs became part of Sam and the Grayson family’s story. |
This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
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