Romance Weekly: #LoveWriteChat

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn't you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all..... About our writing of course! Every week we'll answer questions and after you've enjoyed the blog on this site we'll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride! Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

If you found me by way of J.J. Devine, welcome! Be sure to come back Thursday to help J.J. and I celebrate the release of her new paranormal romance, Into The Darkness. Click here to join her release party: Release Party Details. Oh, and before I forget, be sure to enter our Romance Weekly Giveaway. Click here to enter.

This week's questions come to us from Jeanne McDonald, and boy, are they tough this week, or what?! Here goes. 

How did you go about choosing the names for your characters? 

I swear my characters just pick their own names and personality types. ; )

However, when that fails to happen, I turn to the internet or baby name books. Sometimes, I need to research the origin or meaning of a name.

I also keep a list of cool names that I'd like to use one day. As of today, Delanie, Brooklyn, and Nahla are on that list. 

Where did the inspiration for your current book come from? 

I'll admit, I can't for the life of me remember where the inspiration for Assassin, P.I. came from. But I do know where it came from for my next two projects.

Sophie and Mateo's story concept came to me at school one morning. Every Friday morning, from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. our school site plays music for the kids to dance to. It's our way of celebrating that we made it through another week of learning. However, our school is situated in a small neighborhood, and across the street from our playground are several nice homes. I started wondering how our neighbors felt about the loud music, and the ensuing conga line Mrs. Gonzales would surely start.

What if Mateo, a cranky ex-Marine, lived in one of those homes? Surely he would resent the early morning wake up call. What if he tried throwing his weight around in the school's front office? How would Sophie, the petite school principal, react? I'm guessing sparks would fly right from the start.

Last week, I talked about another character who is very similar to me. April's story began several years ago after listening to a song. You know how song lyrics can be maddeningly difficult to decipher? Yeah. I mistakenly thought part of the song lyrics said the phrase, "GOING SANE." Can't remember the song, or the correct version of the lyrics, but the phrase stuck with me.

From there, I began thinking about three different women, all high school buddies, who leave their crazy lives in order to find their sanity. One leaves her neglectful husband for the sake of her young daughters. Another wants to get out of the rat race after losing a big promotion she was sure she'd get. And April needs to figure out what she wants from life. The three women, and two children, move in together to support each other.  

What methods do you use to ensure you have no plot holes (journal, storyboard, outline, editor, etc.)?

Does pulling my hair out and praying for the best, count? I think I've tried every method known to man! Since I write romantic suspense, and usually from multiple points of views, plotting can be difficult and confusing, especially for me. I've tried using index cards to keep track of scenes, sticky notes, outlines, and an overabundance of journals that I always seem to lose. I even threatened to create a clothesline approach on one wall in our bedroom. My hubby was none too happy about that, though, so it never came to be.

Now I use Scrivener as my writing software. I create a file for each of my characters, along with a photograph, physical description, personality traits, and motivation for their actions. As I write, I refer back to my character analysis notes and keep a long list of questions that need to be answered at some point in the storyline. And then (because it's my favorite tried-and-true method) I talk to whomever will listen. Usually it's one of my sisters who is subjected to an hour long phone conversation where I try to work out the storyline. When they get lost, they ask questions like "How . . . ?" and "Why . . . ?" In turn, I have to find the answers and rewrite or revise accordingly.


Next up . . . Jeana E. Mann, award-winning author of the novel, Intoxicated. Visit her blog at:  http://jeanaemann.net. 

Don't forget to visit again soon. Tomorrow I dish on my current project (a noir-inspired romantic suspense),  and Thursday author J.J. Devine will be here to celebrate her newest release! See you soon!