I’ve been away on holidays and came back to a stomach bug. Hence my silence – that and the fact that once I was recovering, I had to get my head down on my next book.
Writing came to a hiccuping halt yesterday afternoon, but I had a big discussion with my first-reader/husband and, bless him, I think I’ve seen the way forward.
It’s funny how this happens in nearly every book and I guess it’s part of the problem of being a writer who doesn’t plot ahead.
I start out with a very clear vision for the ‘situation’ my characters find themselves in, but that’s about all. I don’t want to know how they’re going to deal with this problem I’ve given them, because that will spoil the fun.
It’s like setting out from shore and sailing towards a dot on the horizon and planning to navigate by the sun and the stars. Suddenly mist comes in, obscuring the way. How does one navigate now?
For me, it’s a matter of blindly pushing on, feeling my way more cautiously and bumping into a few decoys. This week, one of the decoys came in the form of a secondary character. The hero’s uncle.
An uncle?
Now what is an uncle doing in a category romance, when we all know the story should be very tight and focused on the central couple? No wonder my writing felt wrong, totally unromantic. Said uncle has been replaced by the heroine’s ex-husband and the story feels completely different.
So now that’s nutted out, I hope to be sailing happily forward again.
During the week, the hardcover of my next book NEEDED: HER MR. RIGHT arrived. I wanted to scan it to show you, but the only image I could get is grainy and doesn’t do this beautiful cover justice. This is Book 2 in the Secrets We Keep trilogy and will be out in the UK and North America in September. If you remember last year, I said the ending involved a wedding at the beach and that’s what my cover depicts. Simone and Ryan look gorgeous.
Count me as one happy cookie!
