Carol Burnside

This year I’m making a big push with my writing by publishing multiple titles. That also requires “getting the word out,” also known as promotions or promo. So I’m looking for ways to gain exposure without going around shouting “Lookee here. This is my book!”

A writer friend (Thank you, Sia Huff!) alerted me to an opportunity to participate in a Blog Hop and it sounded like fun. The opportunity was from Carol Malone, who graciously spotlighted me and two others in her post here. (Thanks, Carol M!)

To keep things fairly short, we’re answering four questions about our writing process and I’m giving away a copy of A Suitable Wife to one person (picked by random.org) who comments on this post.

1) What am I working on?
Right now, I’m switching off between the last editing touches on Her Unexpected Family (coming Feb. 19th!) and re-writing a bit of His Small Town Princess (coming in late March). Both are part of my new Sweetwater Springs series.

Here’s a little snip-it from a scene in Her Unexpected Family where Claire exits from her hair salon at twilight and finds Travis sleeping in the bed of his truck. I hope you enjoy it.

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A longing rose in her, so strong it created a physical ache. Why had he gone and ruined her perfectly good plan for a no-strings, brief affair?

She stood her ground, watching a few seconds longer, satisfied he was indeed breathing. As she turned to go, a loud snore erupted from between his slightly parted lips.

She shrieked, her heart slamming against her ribs.

He jerked upright, eyes wide and disoriented.

Her pulse slid into overdrive when he hopped to the ground and stood very close, his gaze canvassing their immediate area.

“Why did you scream?” he demanded.

“I didn’t.”

“Yes. You did. It woke me up.”

“You woke yourself.”

“You’re saying I screamed?”

“No. I’m saying you snored.”

“And woke myself.”

“Yes.”

“That’s crazy. If I snored loud enough to wake myself up I wouldn’t get much sleep, now would I?”

“Maybe you don’t.”

“Damn right I don’t.” He nodded curtly, then frowned. “Wait. I don’t snore, or I don’t get enough sleep?”

“Obviously you snore. You just proved it. As for the sleep, I wouldn’t know. But if you’re getting plenty, why were you lying in a truck bed snoring and in an alley, of all places?”

(Read the book to find out why. (-;  )

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
This is a tough one. I think every writer’s work is different from others’ because it has their own unique voice. If three writers were given the task of writing a story with the same specific set of parameters, the end result might have some similarities, but their stories would be quite different because of the choices they make in setting, personality of characters, time of year, etcetera.

3) Why do I write what I do?
Because I’m a romantic at heart and these characters and their lives are what sticks in my brain and nudges me. The characters form, the scene plays out and I have to get it down.  Then I want others to enjoy the story too.

4) How does my writing process work?
I’m not much of a plotter. I do a lot more of it than I did when I first started writing because I see the value in knowing where I’m going, at least for the next scene or chapter, but I don’t try to have a detailed outline before I start. If I did that, I’d never write the book. I’d feel like there was no discovery and excitement in the process.

Let’s just say the Backspace key and I are well acquainted. Tons of writers advise others to take off their editing hat and just write. I’ve never been successful at that, no matter how I try. I have times where I’m really in the zone and my fingers fly, but I’ll still go back and “tweak” before I move on to the next scene. So it’s write, edit, write, edit until I’m satisfied with the results. Then I send it to be critiqued and cleaned up. Then it goes to my editor, sometimes twice, then I’m ready to start formatting it for publishing.

I hope you enjoyed my contribution and will poke around my site a bit and learn more about my work.

Now it’s time for me to hush and spotlight another author, the next link of the hop whose post should be up soon. I’m introducing my critique partner, Susan Carlisle who writes spicy romance featuring medical personnel. Follow her links and learn about their work and the process she uses to reach a satisfying read for you.

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Susan Carlisle

Website: http://SusanCarlisle.com

BIO: 2011 Finalist in the Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Awards!

Susan’s love affair with books began when she made a bad grade in math in the sixth grade. Not allowed to watch TV until she brought the grade up, she filled her time with books. She turned her love of reading into a love of writing romance. If the hero is a smart, sexy and sinfully rich alpha male, he can be found in her books along with a strong heroine who captures the hero’s heart.

When she’s not writing she leads workshops on time management, promoting your books, learning to live with rejection, collaging your storyline and presenting a memorable workshop. For sixteen years, she’s been a high school substitute teacher and that… is another bio. Susan lives near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband of twenty-eight years and has four grown children. Her youngest son received a heart transplant.

She loves castles, traveling and cross-stitching, and reads voraciously.

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For anyone who’d like a little swag, I’m offering up a $10 Amazon gift certificate. The winner will be drawn from commenters on this post who read the first chapter excerpt of A Suitable Wife and answer this question:

At Rosie’s house, when Sam takes Lorelei out of her car seat, what is she hanging onto in addition to his pants leg?

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