April 2014

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Main Posts Background Image

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

20 Questions with Author/Editor Patience Bloom!


It’s a rare pleasure to feature the creative work of one of my book editors! Patience Bloom (then Smith) groomed my “Warrior” contemporary series as senior editor for Harlequin’s (then Silhouette’s) Intimate Moments (now Romantic Suspense) line. (I just got dizzy following those edits). After spending several delightful evenings with her memoir Romance Is My Day Job, I enthusiastically recommend this fun and often poignant insider look at the dating life of someone who makes romance their profession. From teenage daydreams of Duran Duran (tho’ I personally planned to marry Simon, not John!) to comparisons to literature’s famous doomed relationships, her path to finding True Love one fictional hero at a time is filled with heartbreak and humor and a glorious happily-ever-after. To prove that editors are really people who love books, just like us, Patience answers my 20 Questions and offers a teasing glimpse at this gem of a romance (she had me at the book trailer!).

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

IWSG: The Creative Process Cycle


Last month (when I was supposed to be doing my IWSG post . . . hanging head in shame) I participated in a chain letter-type blog hop about The Writing Process where authors shared their own method of getting words on the page. Every post I read offered something uniquely tailored to the particular writer’s own organic style. But in reading them, I couldn’t help but think about a more universal cycle that applies to each project no matter where we are in our writing career - that circle of life (cue Elton John singing!) called The Creative Process. We all go through a struggle to produce against a common enemy. No, it’s not finding time or whether you’re a pantser or a plotter. It’s more insidious than that. It’s our own Inner Author who starts a step-by-step dialogue in our head the minute we type Chapter One on the page. See if you recognize it: