Blog Tour! – My Writing Process

  Hello all, and welcome to my first ever blog tour! XD

So excited!

The awesome David Lee Summers invited me to participate – you can find out more about his writing process on his Scarlet Order blog. Definitely check him out if you love vampires, steampunk, and sci-fi/fantasy! 😀

And now, to the questions!

What am I working on?:

Right now, I’m working on my first self-published book – Tales of Ejoma: Book One.

This first book is going to be a collection of short stories and standalones that all take place in Ejoma – the realm of the immortals.

Some of the content can be read here, on my blog – but the romance has been edited down for WordPress.

Here’s what I’m putting together for this one that you may have already seen:

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Beyond the Gate ~

Shauna Pierson, a Human who was happily minding her own business, thank you very much, accidentally gets pulled across the barrier between the Shima and Human realms, and finds herself in a world she doesn’t recognize at all. Thrown into the middle of a conspiracy, as the only evidence of the weakness in the barrier, she must rely on the protection of beings that shouldn’t even be real.

Vampires. Shapeshifters. Djinn.

The only thing more mind-boggling to her than the strange food and all the magic flying around, is the man protecting her.

Ori Vikan.

A powerful Shima, with the ability to see her dreams and desires.

But only if she chooses to let him.

The Dreamer ~

Rina Deyan has been haunted by dreams of a nameless stranger. In the cloudy haziness, she can’t help falling for this mysterious man, even knowing he doesn’t exist.

But one night, as the dream begins to fragment, for the first time he gives her his name. He seems so sad as he says goodbye, as though this really will be the last time they meet.

Even with a heavy heart, distracted by her dreams, she tries to focus on her duties. As one of the Commanders protecting the capital city, Neluk, what will happen when she’s called to the aid of another city under attack?

A city ruled by a man with a familiar name…

Ascension ~

Mayun Tejans, future ruler of Kretore, has two little problems she has to conquer before she can take her parent’s place.

First, a terrible fear of heights. As the Aspect humans have come to call “dragons,” not only is this unheard of, but it leaves her more vulnerable.

And second, a bloodthirsty band of traitors who may be focusing on her as their next target.

And then, of all people, her cranky, broody protector, Toren Shanek, shows up in all his disapproving, annoying, distractingly sexy glory…

Make that three problems…

Kronen: Standalone One – Patriarch ~

In loving memory of my Grandpa, LMD.

An introduction to Kronen, as he wanders the Hall of Memories in the first city, Iseyba.

As one of the Aspect created without emotion, he is known as “um Vanuk aro Tairi,” the Sight of God. The most ancient and powerful of the Shimana, he is feared and respected.

But what will become of him if he ever gains the ability to feel, as all others of his Aspect eventually do?

Standalone – Bonds ~

In loving memory of my best friend, MDC(Y).

Meya Hestina stands beside her prasuri, Tiges, looking down on the capital city of Neluk. As the sunrise brings a new day, she considers the battles that brought her to this place.

**

The new content I’m working on for this one will include 3 new standalones, added scenes, a language index, and possibly a map of part of Ejoma.

And I’m also happy to announce which characters will star in the new standalones!

Ekija, Gajano, and Triaris!

I’m super excited to start getting into their backstories, and I hope you guys are too! 😀

And – just between you guys and me – you may be seeing a lot more of any secondary characters who end up with their own standalones. 😉 Stay tuned!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?:

I do my best to put a new spin on familiar magical beings, such as vampires, shapeshifters, djinn, dragons, and elementals. I’ve changed and added little things here and there, to mold them into the history I’ve created for Ejoma. I try to balance it all, and still keep them recognizable as the legends they’re based on.

I think one of the biggest differences is that I’ve created a whole separate world for them. One that shares the same space with the Human realm, but couldn’t be more different.

In Ejoma, magic rules and shapes everything.

I’ve also created a language, which was so much fun! 😀

Romance is always the main focus, but I enjoy working on all the fantasy details. I hope that it makes Ejoma, and all the people in it, richer and more interesting. 🙂

Why do I write what I do?:

I think the biggest reason I write what I do is because I love to lose myself in stories – the farther from reality, the better. 🙂 And what I want, more than anything, is to give that escape to other readers to the best of my ability.

I love the magic, and the possibilities, and the freedom to bend and shape things however I want. I feel like there are fewer definite rules, outside of grammar and spelling, and I can, for the most part, just run amuck to my heart’s content.

I don’t really have any special skills – but amuck? That I can do for you, my dear readers. 😀

And romance is my favorite genre, hands down. Lol, no matter what I try to write, somebody always ends up in a romance somewhere. 🙂

How does my writing process work?:

Lol, I really wish I could say there was some magic formula I use, and that it goes smoothly, and things get done in a timely fashion, and in an orderly manner.

But there isn’t, and it doesn’t, and they don’t, and they really don’t. XD

My workspace looks a little like this:

With just a splash of this:

I can be my own worst enemy at times, because I am so disorganized and easily distracted.

But, during those times, what helps me the most with my writing process is music. I have entire soundtracks I’ve put together for particular characters and stories, or for particular types of scenes.

I have a battle soundtrack, for when my characters need backup music for their badassery, and a romance soundtrack for romantic type scenes. I’ve also been posting story soundtracks here as I complete each one.

Usually, there’s something in the lyrics that makes me think of a character, or a situation a character finds themselves in. And I can usually build from there.

Lol, also – I tend to never write in a linear manner that makes sense. 🙂

Sudden inspiration will strike for a scene towards the middle or end, and I’ll attack it before the thought leaves. For some reason, if I don’t do it this way, that great idea will evaporate like smoke, and, at best, I’ll be left with a couple random notes (the skeleton of the idea), that no longer make sense.

And then I cry.

So amuck it is! 😀

Although I have a very rough outline, I end up writing things out of order usually. But then I end up with some kind of a goal to work towards in each scene, and somehow, for some crazy reason, this amuck approach just works for me. 🙂

Posting on Monday, March 31’st, for the Writing Process Blog Tour will be these amazing writers:

James Mahoney @ The Written Word – James Mahoney is a self-published Author & Admin./Marketing Consultant for an architect, living in Southern California. Storyteller and dreamer, James began his writing career writing screenplays, then several years later started his own blogs, and began writing poetry, blog stories, novels, and journalism. He self-published his first book, “Winter, Lust, And Wonder,” which was poetry, in early 2012. Followed by his second book, which was a Novella, called “I Died Once.”

Lorna Lee @ Lorna’s Voice – On my blog, I constantly refer to myself as a “dizzy blonde.” There’s a good reason for that. First, I’m 56 years old and I still am a natural golden blonde. I attribute this to my life-long aversion to chocolate. My sisters both started life as blonde as I am, but they are both choc-a-holics. Their hair turned darker. Second, I have CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) which happens to manifest itself mostly as chronic dizziness. It’s so bad that I had to retire from college teaching (I have a Ph.D. in Sociology) early and am now on permanent disability. While I wasn’t too happy about that particular turn of events in my life, premature retirement gave me the opportunity to explore new things like blogging and writing. And that’s how I came to be here now–dizzy but making the best of it!

Yawatta Hosby @ Yawattahosby – With a desire to escape everyday life, Yawatta Hosby creates stories. She’s always had a fascination with psychology, so she likes to focus on the inner-struggles within her characters. Yawatta is also an avid reader, favorite genres: mystery, thriller, horror, and women’s fiction. Her short story “Room For Two” is published in the online literary magazine The Write Place At the Write Time (Spring/Summer 2013 edition).

Until next time, Take Care and Happy Writing! 😀

Shima noluit: Kiar um Kaitsa anowen isa soirun eri. (Shima blessing: May the Light always shine upon you.)

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