World Blog Tour

 I"m so honored to be invited by a fellow Pelican author, LoRee Perry, to participate in a World Blog Tour! Check out her page: https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery. 

For those that don't know me, I'm a Pelican Book Group author. My debut novel, Washout Express, released last summer from Harbourlight Books. I can't believe it's been a year! I write inspirational romance, devotionals, poems, and articles that encourage folks to look at life through love colored glasses, the love of Christ. I'm proud to be represented by Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency. I live in West Texas where I work at our public library. My husband and I have eleven grandchildren and love every minute of it.

This blog tour answers four questions:

Washout Express

1) What am I working on? My main focus currently is a sequel to my debut novel, Washout Express. The working title is Wedding Express. It's fun to continue the story and delve even deeper into the characters that I love. Sequel writing turns out to be full of challenges, but I love the process. There is a third installment in the Washout Express series in draft form, waiting for my attention. I'm collecting research for a historical based on the West Texas area where I live. Another project I'm drafting is a Contemporary Fiction story for baby boomers.
 
 2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? Washout Express was released as Inspirational Romance. I love the word "inspire". My goal in the book was to inspire women to know who they are in Christ and the romance was the vehicle by which Bailey Brown discovered this. I'm not really sure how it's different from other inspirational romances, accept possibly that the characters are somewhat older than in a traditional romance.


3) Why do I write what I do?Again, that word inspiration comes into play. I'm always inspired to provide a positive spiritual influence to my readers. It's a ministry of sorts for me, and I've been blessed by the feedback I've received. One reader wrote that the book caused her to "really rethink some of my choices". That's why I write what I do.


  4) How does my writing process work? I still have a full time job so my writing time is in the early morning. I'm usually up by 5:30 typing away. I just don't have anything left when I get home from work, so that's my reading time. I get an idea, start taking notes and researching. My usual process is to pound out a rough draft in about a month, and then dive into the rewrites and editing. I guess being involved in National Novel Writer's Month for years has conditioned me to that no holds barred, pressing forward with a draft mentality. My first published book released last summer. I realized a few months later that I was spending way more time than I wanted with social network marketing, and all the other things that go along with publishing. I've scaled that back, allotting one day a week to schedule tweets and blog posts, and whatever else is pressing in that regard.  I'm back to a committed writing time. 

I'm tagging the following authors to continue the tour. They'll be posting their writing process on July 15th: I'm happy to introduce to you:

Diane Dean White 

 Diane started her writing career at an early age when she asked for a typewriter for Christmas. She pounded the keys writing poetry and short stories during her school years on an old black Royal manual. It wasn't until her husband's work took them to the county seat of a southern town, she had her first column, "Yankee Viewpoint's" for a local newspaper. She covered hard news and feature stories in the area. Upon returning to their home-state of Michigan, she did stringer work, ancestral history, and donor appeal letters for non-profit organizations; while doing her favorite job ever, as a stay-at-home Mom. She is the author of Beach Walks and Carolina in the Morning. Diane was a columnist for a weekly magazine, for four years, and her stories have appeared in a number of magazines and books. She is the author of over three-hundred short stories. Her book, newly released in October, On a Summer Night, is a story of suspense and romance. Diane's newest ebook, Stories From a Porch Swing, shares sweet stories you'll enjoy from over the years. Just released April 2014. She and hubby, Stephen, have been married for almost forty-two years, and they are the parents of three grown children and three grand-gals. Diane thanks the Lord daily for her loving husband, three great kids and for giving her the desires of her heart. She'll be posting her writing process next week on the 15th.

Linda Smith LaRoque 

 Linda LaRoque is a Texas girl, but the first time she got on a horse, it tossed her in the road dislocating her right shoulder. Forty years passed before she got on another, but it was older, slower, and she was wiser. Plus, her students looked on and it was important to save face. A retired teacher who loves West Texas, its flora and fauna, and its people, Linda’s stories paint pictures of life, love, and learning set against the raw landscape of ranches and rural communities in Texas and the Midwest. She is a member of RWA, her local chapter of HOTRWA, NTRWA and Texas Mountain Trail Writers. Linda writes contemporary and historical westerns, time travels and futuristic romances. Her publishing achievements include nine novels and four novellas. She lives in Central Texas with her husband and a spoiled dog named Molly.  You do not want to miss her pictures from her Ireland trip on her blog http://www.lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/  She'll be posting her writing process next week on the 15th.