Nothing to report!

I don’t really have an update but I thought I’d make my weekly blog anyway. Life is fairly calm, I’ve been busy with doctors appointments and visits from my sister and niece. I wasn’t able to work much as I hurt my wrist last week and it is still difficult to type now.

As there is nothing to report I am going to answer a few more questions that have been asked.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

None. I have a few writer communities that I am involved with online but no one I would consider a friend.

The communities are great though. My ad school group is fab at helping me with all aspects of advertising and the other writer groups always have answers to questions and good advice.

What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?

Others may think differently, but I don’t think I owe them anything. Most of my characters are not based on a single person. One is based on my mother and another is my younger son but usually I don’t have a full person until I start typing. I use aspects of people not actual people.

What does literary success look like to you?

This is two fold for me. I love to see that someone is reading one of my books and that feels like success. That was my aim when I published each book. I just wanted someone to read and enjoy it.

However I am a dreamer at heart. I would love to make a good living just from my books. The ultimate dream is to have one or more of my books made into a series or movie. However, so long as people are reading my work and enjoying it, I will keep writing.

How do you select the names of your characters?

My early characters got names I liked. Simple as that.

The later ones are a little more complicated. I use Nameberry to search for names and their meanings. I want the names to reflect the characters even if the reader doesn’t know it. So my vampires have older style names and the witches tend to have names that reflect their power in some way.

A name can have true meaning and I avoid names that are difficult to pronounce or read as I do not want the reader to get frustrated each time they read it. I find it annoying when I am reading so avoid it when I am writing.

Until next time...

Grab a book. Snuggle up and read. A good story can take you anywhere.

Just believe.