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Q&A – 5 Things (Part 4)

Q&A – 5 Things (Part 4)

This will be an ongoing series where I answer the most common questions I get from readers:

Q1: Do you have a favorite book you’ve written?

A:  I don’t have a favorite. I like them all for different reasons and I think they could all be improved for different reasons.

Q2: Do you have a muse? Why or why not?

A:  Not in the sense that there is one particular person or one specific thing that inspires me.

Q3: Do you listen to music when you’re writing?

A:  Mostly instrumental and in the vein of whatever I’m writing. Listening to Christmas music in August while writing Christmas romances is very disorienting!

Q4: What part of the book do you have the hardest time writing?

A:  That murky middle! I don’t usually write chronologically, instead I take the major scenes and write them first, then link them together.

Q5: What other genres would you like to try writing?

A:  I’ve had a YA adventure churning in my head for about ten years. I’m finally starting to work  on it and I’m so excited!

 

 

Have questions? You can submit them here as a comment or email me: AuthorJeanetteLewis@gmail.com

On original ideas … Sondheim says it best

On original ideas … Sondheim says it best

I’ve been obsessing this week over the 90th Birthday celebration for Stephen Sondheim last year and especially this song from “Sunday in the Park with George.” It’s not one of my favorite musicals, but this song is definitely a highlight and Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford absolutely nail it.

One of the best lines comes around 2:30:

I get some variation of this worry a lot, especially from new authors. I don’t know how many times someone has told me they have a cool idea, but they’re worried it will seem tired, the idea has been done, the story has been told already.

Well, true. There are not a whole lot of stories that haven’t already been told. But … they haven’t been told by YOU. Don’t steal other people’s work, but tell your story. You have a unique voice and the world will be richer hearing it.

Q&A – 5 Things (Part 3)

Q&A – 5 Things (Part 3)

This will be an ongoing series where I answer the most common questions I get from readers:

Q1:  Where do you get your ideas?

A:  I have so many ideas for books! Once you’ve done this long enough, your brain starts automatically evaluating most situations to see if it would make a good book. Many of the ideas I’ve been developing lately are not purely sweet romance and it’s been exciting to branch out a little.

Q2:  What is your writing process?

A:  Once I’ve settled on an idea for a book, I start outlining. I write down the major moments and how I want them to go, then work backwards from there. Some of my author friends can start on page one and write consecutively to the end, but I do better when I can skip around and write the big scenes first, then go back and add the little ones to tie them together.

After I’ve finished the story, I send it to my beta readers and I usually end up making quite a few changes based on their feedback. I rewrote almost the entire second half of Sweet Illusions after I got it back from beta. I recently hired an alpha reader to read the manuscript chapter-by-chapter and give feedback, so that should cut down on the rewrites since I can make adjustments as I go based on her feedback.

Q3:  Do you have any unusual writing quirks?

A:  I outline and brainstorm on blue copy paper. It has to be loose papers (not a notebook) and it has to be blue. I have no idea why that’s become my thing, but it is.

Q4:  What do you love about writing? What do you hate?

A:  I love creating stories! I’ve always been a storyteller and I love coming up with new ideas, developing characters to fit the situation, and piecing it all together into something that is exciting and new.

The only thing I hate are the pirates and plagiarizers who steal your work. Most of my books are distributed exclusively through Amazon and they do a great job trying to crack down on the thieves, but it’s extremely difficult and there are, unfortunately, a lot of people trying to profit from someone else’s hard work.

Q5:  Do you ever get writer’s block and if so, what do you do about it?

A:  Absolutely. Everyone gets writer’s block, it’s part of the process. When I have it, I usually take a break and try to get some exercise to restart my brain. Then I’ll sit down and try to come up with 5-10 things that could happen next in the story and pick the best one. Writing is just like any other job – you’re not inspired all the time and there will be moments when you feel inadequate or you’re sick of it, etc. But you have to keep going and push through it.

Have questions? You can submit them here as a comment or email me: AuthorJeanetteLewis@gmail.com

Q&A – 5 Things About Me (Part 2)

Q&A – 5 Things About Me (Part 2)

This will be an ongoing series where I answer the most common questions I get from readers:

Q1:  What is your favorite book?

A:  Jane Eyre! I have always had a soft spot for anything gothic Victorian and for unconventional characters. Did you know that Charlotte Bronte wrote it to prove she could sell a book in which the main characters were not conventionally attractive? I’d say she nailed it. I love Jane and Rochester and their banter makes me swoon every time. Okay, the gypsy scene is a bit much, but I’ll forgive her that considering the environment and time in which she was writing.

My other favorite books include the Little House books (Laura Ingalls Wilder) and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series (Laini Taylor).

Q2:  What genres do you like/dislike?

A:  I’ll read almost anything, but my favorites are young adult, women’s fiction, adventure, and sweet romance and I do like the thrills that come with a good suspense novel. I don’t really like anything that’s too heavy on the military or tech lingo, like Tom Clancy, and I stay away from erotica or anything too graphic.

Q3:  What is your writing Kryptonite?

A: Wikipedia. When I’m writing a first draft, I have to turn the internet off because it’s way too easy to click over for a quick bit of research for the story and then an hour later, I’m twenty pages deep into serial killers.

Q4: Do you read your book reviews?

A:  Absolutely. I want to know what’s working and what isn’t. I don’t put a lot of stock in one bad review, I just figure it wasn’t a good fit for that reader; however, if multiple readers start mentioning the same problem, I take notice. But I ignore the trolls. I had one person leave one-star reviews on all my books after I refused to send him money. Lame.

Q5:  Do you write characters with actors in mind if the book ever became a movie?

A:  I will sometimes draw inspiration from an actor’s look, but I try to let my characters develop on their own and not base them off anyone in particular. There are several bookstagrammers who like to cast the main characters when they do a book review and I always love to see who they pick. So far, they’ve never used the same actor I did when writing the book, but there’s always a first.

I love to hear from readers! If you have any questions, you can send them to me at: AuthorJeanetteLewis@gmail.com

Sweet Kisses Box Set w/Kissing the Mountain Man

Sweet Kisses Box Set w/Kissing the Mountain Man

I’m so excited to be part of this fantastic box set by some of my favorite authors. Get 21 sweet romance novellas for only $0.99! And if you pre-order, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Pets for Vets, a wonderful charity that helps unite pets with our service men and women.

The set is available now for preorder at your favorite ebook retailer.

Preorder the Sweet Kisses box set here

Once the sweet kisses box set is out, Kissing the Mountain Man will become Book Four of my existing Tamarack Ridge Romances. I’ve had so much fun going back to Tamarack Ridge to write this one. I even learned how to use a chainsaw as part of my research!

Kissing the Mountain Man

After a very public humiliation, Kennedy Jones flees Seattle for the solitude of Tamarack Ridge. But a navigation error leads her to the cabin of Clay Dresden, a recluse who is not looking for company. Kennedy stakes her claim on the cabin, but will she stake a claim on Clay’s heart?

Romance with HEART

Romance with HEART

With every story, I write, I spend hours brainstorming, researching, outlining, developing characters, drafting, and, inevitably, deleting thousands of words that end up going nowhere.

And eventually … somewhere in that process … something incredible happens and I find the heart of the story. That little bit of magic that makes it come alive and turns it from words on my computer screen into something real. That thing that gives in breath and makes in unique from any other story I’ve written.

Sometimes I find the heart of the story right away, like in The Passionate One. Sometimes it takes longer. I deleted almost thirty thousand words from The Ambitious One and rewrote the entire second half when it just didn’t seem to work.  Sometimes I still haven’t found it. I’ve been promising you the final book in The Billionaire Bride Pact for months. But The Heartbroken One is still sitting in draft form, whispering for me to dig a little deeper, to find the heart of Nikki and Darrin’s story.

Short romances are a quick-turn market. I wish I could write as fast as some of my colleagues and release a book every four or six weeks. But, everyone has their own process and this is mine. I can’t get excited about something until I’ve put my heart into it and in doing so, found it’s heart in return.

So when looking at a little branding tweak, Romance with Heart seemed appropriate to me. What do you think?