Writing Process Blog Hop

 Thanks to Renee Rose for inviting me to this blog hop, where authors answer questions about their writing process.

1. What am I working on?

       I am in (hopefully) the final edits for a Regency called His Yankee Girl. Becoming Lady Amherst (see discussion on this topic in my Sat Spanks post below)

      Here's the blurb: When Miss Sarah McLean causes a scandal in Boston, her father takes her to London in search of a husband.

     At her first party, Sarah insults Lord Amherst who takes her over his knee to spank some manners into her. When his actions come to light, Sarah's father offers him a choice: Marry Sarah or send her back to America where she has no prospects for a husband.

     Intrigued by the spirited Yankee Girl, Lord Amherst proposes.

     Despite the circumstances of their marriage, Sarah and Jeffrey form a bond and appear headed for a bright future.

That is, until Sarah pretends to be someone she's not.

     I'm also in the first stages of writing a contemporary story called Strictly Professional.

      Here's the current Blurb: Professor Douglas Hollister enjoys his reputation as the toughest teacher at his law school. When he needs an occasional release from the rigors of academia, he drives to his favorite BDSM club in the city to indulge his dominant side before returning to resume his role as mild mannered legal scholar. 

     His well-ordered life is turned upside down when Miss Caroline "Lolly" Anderson shows up on the first day of class. 

     Lolly has no interest in becoming a lawyer, but her grandfather's will stipulates that she must complete   one quarter of law school in order to inherit his vast estate. 

     Well-versed in flirting her way through life, Lolly is sure she'll be able to get the deliciously geeky Professor Hollister to do her bidding. 

      But when Lolly fails to turn in her assignment on time, dominant Professor Hollister lays down the law...across her bare bottom. 

Will these two make it through ten weeks without losing their briefs?  

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

     I don't necessarily think my work is totally unique but it does tend to have more humor than most. Also, since I'm a lawyer I tend to use that experience in some of my books as well. (See the blurb for Strictly Professional above).

3. Why do I write what I do?

  Mostly, because it's fun. Admittedly, the writing process is often hard work, but overall, I enjoy writing spanking stories and knowing that there are people who enjoy what I write is good motivation.

4. How does my writing process work?

     Pretty haphazardly. I'll get an idea for a situation or for characters and then I just start. Sometimes I end up deleting and re-writing large sections of my stories because I don't have a plan when I start. But, whenever I try to work with a plan or outline, I feel like I am writing toward the next plot point instead of seeing what happens and that's sort of stifling for me.

     I wish I could write out a detailed outline and know everything that's going to happen, but that just doesn't work for me. I'll jot down notes for later in the story, but usually by the time I get to that point, something else has happened and the idea I had last week doesn't fit. Or I lose the scrap of paper the note was written on.  

     I put my characters in a situation, then think about sort of the worst thing that could happen. For example, what would be the most annoying thing to a by the book law professor? A flibberty gibbet who has no interest in anything other than passing one quarter of law school.

     After I get the first draft done, I send it to my fabulous critique partner, April Vine, who will kindly tell me where my story is horrible and where it isn't quite so horrible. I usually don't send her anything until I'm done, but occasionally if I'm getting started on something, I'll send it to her or maybe someone else and just ask if it's working.

     When I started Becoming Lady Amherst (last September!) I sent Cara Bristol an email and asked if she had some time to read the first couple thousand words and tell me if it was worth continuing. I did that because 1. I respect Cara's opinion and 2. The story is in first person and started out in diary format, which I'd never done before, so I wanted to get some early feedback. She gave it the thumbs up, so I kept going.

Next week, March 10th, you can find out about Cara Bristol's writing process.

Here's her bio:  Cara Bristol has written everything from mainstream long and short fiction to nonfiction magazine and newspaper articles. She sold her first erotic romance in 2009. Now multi-published, she has ten erotic romances and three anthologies to her name. The author of the popular Rod and Cane Society domestic discipline series, Cara writes spanking fiction most often, but her published works also include contemporary and paranormal erotic romances. Breeder is her first science fiction novel and the start of a series. She lives in the Midwest  United States with her husband. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, traveling, and watching reality TV shows.  

Author website

Twitter  @CaraBristol

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Email: carabristol50@yahoo.com

 Some of Cara's Books:  Unexpected Consequences, False Pretenses, BodyPolitics, and Breeder