Simon Canton asked me to be part of the Writing Process Blog Tour. I said yes, how could I not?

What am I working on?

I’ve been working on “Mermaid’s Curse” since October. It’s my third novel length book, but the fist one I’ll be publishing. An epic fantasy, with some romantic overtones, it’s set in the same world as “Osiren’s Tears”, but is a stand alone novel tracking the making and breaking of a curse on Okira, a half mermaid witch.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My stories, though set in fantasy and paranormal worlds, are more about the characters and their struggles then about the magic and mayhem (though it does play a big part). You couldn’t really take the magic or sci-fi elements out, as they are integral parts of the story, but more importantly: how do the characters react to demons chasing them, cyborgs crushing them, or a curse denying them love? It’s the human struggle I find interesting and compelling.

Though magic is really fun.

Why do I write what I do?

I’m fascinated by people. What makes them tick? What drives them? Why do they do such terrible or wonderful things? How will they react when I throw something new at them?

Every time my characters surprise me it thrills me just a little more.

How does my writing process work?

I do something in between pantsing and plotting. I start with a very general idea, like “Sleeping dragon awakens after 1000 years to find a city built on his back.” Then I find the first scene. Add a few people, and a little bit of mayhem. Once I have those basics down I can start writing a general outline. One or two sentences for a each chapter.

The outline is never the end. I’m constantly tweeking and discovering new things. New people, and problems. Sometimes I will decide the ending is general, like “The hero saves the day by killing the bad guy”, but I always end up tweeking and refining it as I get to the end. The HOW is more important then the what by then. And sometime the how can get… complicated.

Nominations

For this weeks Blog Tour I nominate a great writer, a podcaster, and a friend. The fantastic Buddy Gott and his fantabulouse beard!

Buddy Gott is a writer of humorous fiction. His first novel, I WAS A TEENAGE AMISH VAMPIRE, will be released in early Summer, 2014. Buddy is also the host or co-host of a ridiculously large number of shows on the internet. To find out more about him, his writing, and his shows, please visit his site at www.buddygott.com.