My Writing Process Blog Tour

April 1, 2014 by DARLENE PANZERA

I want to thank my critique partner, D.V. Berkom for inviting me to join My Writing Process Blog Tour. As the author of two bestselling thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-butt female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages. You can visit her blog at: http://dvberkom.wordpress.com

My Writing Process

1. What am I working on?

I am in the middle of writing my next novella in THE CUPCAKE DIARIES series. This would be Book 6 and features the Creative Cupcakes team going to compete in the Regional bake-off in Seattle. This story features Trish & Ollie Montgomery, a married couple who must rediscover their love for one another and learn to be a team again.

I am also working on a collection of short-short stories to group together into a sweet anthology and have plans to start working on a sweet ranch series.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I write sweet, wholesome, traditional-style romances that feature lots of light-hearted humor on top like the fluffy frosting on a cupcake. But then there's that bottom layer of rich relationships between the characters. Focusing on friendship, family, and love, I give them real life issues they need to work out and core values they need to discover by the end of the story.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I love romance. I love thinking about  all the millions of different ways two people could meet, all the possibilities of what they could say, and  all the things that could happen. The choices are endless, and like a puzzle, I like figuring them out piece by piece. I also like building in all the connections between character, setting, plot to foreshadow future events, and tie everything together to feel like an organic whole.

4. How does my writing process work?

First, a fun idea for a dialogue exchange between the main characters pops into my head. Then I write it down and slip it into a folder on my desk. Then day after day other parts of the story will emerge and soon I'll have a whole folder of random notes. When I feel it's time to begin, I type all the notes into one word document on my laptop to see what I've got. Then using character charts I  brainstorm who these characters are, and using a plot template I figure out what needs to happen to them to help them grow into the people they need to be by the end of the story. Sometimes I put together a photo collage on a poster board to help generate ideas. Sometimes I use index cards and lay them out on the floor like dominos. Next I write the first full rough draft. Then I cut excess parts that don't fit the story and may move scenes to different locations. Then I do a rewrite, bringing in more detail to deepen the story. Last is the polish, which edits sentence structure and word choice to make the story shine. My critique group offers suggestions from start to finish to give me valuable feedback before I send it off to my publisher.

Who's up next?

These three amazing writers are joining us on April 14.

Dawn Luedecke

A country girl born and bred, Dawn Luedecke has spent most of her life surrounded by horses, country folk, and the wild terrain of Nevada, Idaho and Montana. As a child she would spend many afternoons reading books, watching western classics, and Rogers and Hammerstein movies. When she grew up she decided to leave the quiet country life for a chance to find adventure by serving in the United States Coast Guard. During that time she found her soul mate (and alpha male) and started a family and writing career. These days you can find her on the coastline as she follows her husband’s Coast Guard career along the beach. Visit her blog on her website at:  www.dawnluedecke.com

Debby Lee

Debby Lee belongs to several chapters of RWA, has published three short stories and a novella in A Cascades Christmas by Barbour Publishing. She’s happily married, has five children and lives in Washington. Reading is one of her favorite hobbies, as well as cheering for the Seattle Seahawks. Visit Debby’s website at http://booksbydebbylee.com and her blog at http://sweetinspirationals.wordpress.com

Jackie Marilla

Jackie Marilla writes contemporary romance with just a little spice!  She published her first short story, ONLY ON VALENTINE’S DAY, with Books To Go Now in January of 2014.  Jackie lives on a farm in Hawai’i with her supportive husband, several feral cats, and a flock of hodgepodge chickens.  When she’s not at her desk writing, Jackie loves to visit her grown children and grandson in the Pacific Northwest, read, sew, and make lampwork glass beads.   In a past life, she was an elementary school teacher. Jackie is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Greater Seattle Chapter. Visit her blog at:   jackiemarilla.blogspot.com

 

Photo-Journal Research Trip

How does an author gather the details she needs to write a book? Tag along on a photo-journal research trip along the Oregon Coast!

  

    Before I could write the next books in The Cupcake Diaries series, I knew I had to take a 4 hour road trip from my home in Washington down to the Oregon Coast. I had been there several times before, but  needed to gather new info and take a fresh look at the landmarks in the surrounding area with an author's eye. My husband did most of the driving so I could write notes and take photos along the way.

     Our first stop was at the Pig 'N Pancake restaurant in Astoria to get coffee and a good breakfast. Afterwards I took photos of the sprawling Astoria-Megler Bridge from the parking lot. Astoria is the seaport town where the majority of the first 4 books in the series is set.

     We continued our journey and arrived in Cannon Beach forty minutes later. Book 5 - The Cupcake Diaries: Sprinkled with Kisses - releases March 18th and is set at this location. When I wrote the book I used the Google Earth web cam to view various streets where I could place my heroine Stacey's pink Volkswagen bus mobile cupcake stand. I was happy to see the web cam had been extremely accurate - I recognized the spot on sight. As I walked the beach and traveled all the paths Stacey took in the book I used my camera to photograph everything. I will use these pictures for upcoming blogs and other promotion for the new book release.

 

     Next we visited the tourist information center where I talked with the woman in charge about festivals and events that might impact my characters at different times of the year. I also picked up maps, booklets, postcards, pamphlets, magazines, and newspapers from the area to help set my scenes with accurate detail and historical background.

     Now the part we were really looking forward to. We went to Simply Cakes by Jae and bought 4 cupcakes: 2 vanilla with raspberry filling and Italian butter cream icing, 1fudge filled chocolate, and 1 caramel filled chocolate.  These are simply the best cupcakes I've ever tasted! www.simplycakesbyjae.com.  Jae's shop was originally located in Astoria and when she moved to Cannon Beach I was inspired to have my cupcake shop girls (Andi, Rachel, and Kim) expand their business and run a beach stand. Jae has been a valuable source of information, not only for details about running a cupcake shop, but for giving me local resident insight. Many scenes in the book series were inspired by our previous conversations. This time we talked for 1 ½ hours. I plan to have a book signing at her shop (with cupcakes!) in May.

     While I was in town I also stopped in the local book store to see if they'd be interested in a book signing and also learned the library features local authors once a month.

     Next stop: Seaside. This is the new location for Book 6 in the series, the book I plan to write next. I picked Seaside to be the town where my cupcake shop girls open their second shop for a number of reasons. Seaside has volleyball tournaments on the beach, something I plan to bring into the plot. And it has the aquarium where you can feed the seals. They are just so cute I have to bring them into the story by setting an important scene there. Seaside is also a huge draw for tourists and so the town has lots of fun and unique things for my new romantic couple to do.

After checking into our hotel, we walked to the circular promenade at the end of the main street by the beach. The statues of historical pioneers Lewis and Clark  stand in the middle and when I saw a pictorial engraved hand shake on the monument with the words, "peace and friendship," I thought that could very well be this new book's theme.

Day 2 of the research trip was much lighter. I took more photos. The purpose of the pictures are 3-fold. I can use them for promotion, look at them while I write for inspiration and accurate detail, and they help me find possible locations for scenes set in the story.

     I found the perfect place for the second cupcake shop next to our hotel in the Riverside Walk shops. I went across the bridge to take photos of the shop from the opposite side of the river and discovered two furry otters scratching their backs on the wooden dock. There is no doubt - these little guys will also find a way into this story!

My husband and I went into the Seaside Aquarium today and I gathered the scene info and necessary ties to theme and plotline by reading some of the descriptions and backgrounds of the fish. Very cool! The background for one type of fish symbolizes my story character's trials.

 

     I visited two more bookstores and talked to each of them about possible book signings in hopes of grouping some of these together into one weekend the next time I come down. Always multi-tasking!

     I hope you've enjoyed the tour and recognize some of my stops when you read Books 5, 6, & 7  of The Cupcake Diaries.  For more information visit:  www.darlenepanzera.com