Playing Jericho Deleted Scene
When I write a book, a lot of the time I get inspiration from different places or songs or just random thoughts that pop into my mind. It’s usually not for a full scene, but I get snippets of dialogue or moments of interaction that I don’t want to miss out on, so I keep a file in my book folder called Bits and Pieces and I add to it throughout the entire process.
10 Things No One Told Me About Writing Romance
My romance writing journey started out in the world of fanfic. I’ve always been into romance novels, ever since I was a teenager and stumbled onto the “gothic horror romance” that was V.C. Andrews. And boy were they right about the horror part. YIKES.
Better Than a Punch In The Face
Time for some real talk: Writing Playing Jericho has always been a struggle for me since day one. I think I’ve touched on this a little bit before, but every word I write of this book means I have to reach inside my brain (metaphorically, of course), and yank the words free.
The weird thing is I love Jericho as a character. I love his love interest, Moon. I love their story. So why is this so goddamn hard?
Let's Talk About S-E-X... Scenes
I was an avid romance reader long before I decided to try my hand at writing. I’m also slightly obsessed with Hallmark Christmas movies when that time of the year rolls around. And what’s the difference between contemporary romance and those sweet Hallmark vids?
Sex.
Graphic, hot, and awkward as fuck to write sex.
Jericho Sneak Peek: Chapter One
Like I did with Maddox, I wanted to share with you the (unedited!) first chapter of Jericho. I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll keep saying it but Jericho is DARK y’all. He’s damaged and gives zero fucks about making other people happy. He is who he is and likes what he likes. HEADS UP: This sneak is NSFW.
Meet: True
From the moment True announced his presence in my mind, he’s been the sweetest, most caring guy ever. He has the ability to handle shit when he has to, but mostly he’s a laid back surfer who’s good with going with the flow. He’s the peacemaker and he’s a total romantic.
Meet: Maddox
Maddox was actually the second character that really solidified himself in my mind when I was writing Finding Zen. He was partially inspired by the song “Marry Me” by Thomas Rhett. I knew what his story would be like, but I wasn’t quite sure about his personality.
But the more I wrote him, the more of an asshole he came to be. But I loved that about him. He was the snarky one, the first one to make a snide comment, to flirt unabashedly, to stir up drama and give people shit. He spoke his mind without reservation and I loved that about him.
Meet: Jericho
When I originally came up with my first book idea in Finding Zen, I knew I was going to be writing about a band of guys. I like reading books in a series, so that’s what I wanted to write. So, I had to decide how many guys and how the band would be put together.
Meet: Zen
Zen was the very first character I ever came up with. I’ve talked a little bit about this before, but when I heard the song “The Hills” by The Weeknd, I really started to wonder what that lifestyle would look like. For my first foray into attempting to write my own book, I wanted to write something exciting. What better to start out with than rock stars?
What I Wrote This Week
This week, my sole writing focus was the Shadow Phoenix prequel. Want to know the best part about this book? It’s going to be totally FREE! Woo!
Character Inspiration: Connor
As you probably know by now, Finding Zen was my first attempt at writing a book. It’ll always be my favorite story because of that, but when I was doing character development, I really had no idea what I was doing. I jumped into 12-page character questionnaires that were FAR more detailed than necessary.
Thankfully, I learned how to streamline the process and it’s not nearly as intense now as it used to be.
Finding Zen: New Cover Announcement
The Shadow Phoenix series was my first ever, and because of that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. My first version of the Zen cover I did myself and… it was okay. But, I didn’t know the first thing about designing a book cover.
What I Wrote This Week
This week, I spent most of my time revamping Finding Zen. The new version has been uploaded and is ready for you to check out! Keep reading to find out about why I felt the need to make the changes.
Character Inspiration: Ryan
When I first started thinking about the story line for Saving Maddox, I knew who Maddox was because I’d already played with his character and spent some time developing it in Finding Zen and Loving True. I also knew some of the details I wanted to have happen in the story because they were inspired by a song. (If you’re curious, check out the Playlists tab).
What I Read This Weekend
This is the third book in the Sainthood - Boys of Lowell High series and I felt like I’d been waiting for it for forever. I absolutely adore this series. It’s a dark high school bully reverse harem series with a strong-as-hell heroine who can definitely hold her own. But her guys? They make her stronger and the five of them together make a formidable team.
What I Wrote This Week
I spent the majority of this week working on two things: An overhaul of Finding Zen and the Shadow Phoenix prequel (which as of now is tentatively named Shadow Phoenix).
Character Inspiration: Charlie
When I’m starting the process of writing a book, I figure out who my main characters are going to be and then I start digging into their backstory. Who are they? What was their childhood like? What’s their relationship with their parents like? And do they have siblings?
What I Read This Weekend
Finding Zen is getting a refresher so I didn’t have my usual amount of reading time this weekend. Still, I managed to finish the books below. Let me know in the comments what you read this weekend.
Finding Zen: Deleted Scene
When writing a story, I sometimes have to choose what to include in the final draft. I try to be careful about my planning so I don’t end up writing a bunch of extra stuff that gets cut, but it does still happen from time to time. This is one such scene.
What I Wrote This Week
This past Tuesday, Saving Maddox released and now that it’s out in the world it was time for me to jump into my next project. If I’m not actively writing something at pretty much all times, I get twitchy.