Writing process blog tour

I was tagged by Melissa A. Petreshock to participate in a blog hop about my writing process. It’s a simple one – answer four questions, and then tag three more authors, until it spreads, virus-like, across the WHOLE INTERWEBS!

Mwahahahahahah!

Ahem.

So, here are the questions, and my answers:

What are you working on right now? 

I’m currently doing the first-round edits on my debut novel, Isla’s Inheritance, which comes out with Turquoise Morning Press in the second half of 2014. When that’s done, I’ll be doing a quick brush-up edit on the sequel, Isla’s Oath, so it’s ready to send to TMP when they ask for it. And then I’ll have to get to work on the third book in the trilogy. I’ve got an outline ready to go, although there are still a few blank spots that need sorting out. I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t drafted anything new in more than a month and I’m getting twitchy!

How does it differ from other works in its genre?

A fairy. Not like my fairies. (Source)

The series is a young adult urban fantasy—with fae. There are a few ways it differs, but my favourite one is the setting. I’ve always been interested in the mythological creatures of Europe, but at the same time I always wanted to write a novel set in Australia. I struggled with this for a long time, until I came up with the notion that maybe some of these mythological creatures fled to Australia over the years, came here to escape tyrannical leaders.

So I have fae, but they aren’t pretty, girly fairies—they are from a very cruel world. And they are hiding. When Isla, with her curious heritage, starts making some “noise”, that attracts all sorts of unwanted attention, with consequences not only for her but for her family and fae she’s never even met.

Why do you write what you do? 

My muse doesn’t give me a choice.

It’s true. I started on the first chapter of a historically inspired Steampunk/fantasy, and my muse came along with her steel cap boots and said NO, you will write another urban fantasy. (That one is Lucid Dreaming, which I’m getting ready to pitch between other projects.)

I think one reason is that I am mostly reading urban fantasy these days. And part of it is that the idea of the sort of heavy-duty worldbuilding you need to do for a fantasy novel intimidates me, and I’m pretty much a giant chicken. (I will try it one day, if my muse permits.)

I’ve considered writing contemporary fiction with no supernatural element whatsoever, but every time I do, I start thinking about a magical element to the story. My imagination just doesn’t seem to work that way.

How does your writing process work? 

Because I’m a single, working mother with a young son, I don’t get time to write every day. I wish I could, but I don’t. I usually manage once or twice a week—my goal when I’m drafting is to produce at least 2000 words a week. That means I write slowly. My most recent manuscript, which was Lucid Dreaming, took me seven months to draft. But it also means I have a lot of plotting time. My commute to and from work, moments of peace in the shower, even standing in a queue for a sandwich—those are all times when I can think about the story and what’s going to happen next.

It means I have yet to get “writer’s block”, because when I sit down to write I almost always know exactly what I need to happen in that scene. It’s the one upside of having so little time to actually write, so I’ll take advantage of it while I can!

Look for these authors next week…

Katie Hamstead, whose second book, Kiya: Mother of a King, came out this month with Curiosity Quills Press.

S. M. Johnston, whose debut novel, Sleeper, comes out in December 2013 with Entranced Publishing.

Stacey Nash, whose debut novel, Forget Me Not, comes out in February 2014, also with Entranced Publishing.