Doin’ the Blog Hop

by Sandra Ardoin

Author Leah Ness sent me a sweet invitation to participate in a blog hop in which I answer four questions meant to inform you about my writing. I thought it sounded fun and have passed the questions on to three more writers listed at the end of my post. It will give you an opportunity to get to know them too. BTW, you’ll find Leah’s answers to the questions here.

What am I working on? 

What day is it? Sorry if that sounds flippant, but lately it’s felt that way.

In January, I wrote my project goals for 2014. I’ll admit they were a tad ambitious and included writing a Christmas novella, a historical romance novel, and rewriting a file-drawer novel. In between, I wanted to write three short stories and do at least three guest posts for blogs. Crazy, right?

Four months are almost gone and here’s what I have to show for them:

• After several false starts, I finished the Christmas novella and have submitted the proposal. (Already received a request for the full, so prayers, please.)

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

I’ve signed a contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas for my Christmas novella, The Yuletide Angel. It releases in October. 

In the meantime, I …

• Needed to rewrite a proposal and the first chapter of a previously submitted novel. Done
• Edited a short story soon to be published (one of the three). Done
• Received a rejection for a contemporary novella with comments that encouraged me to change the plot and resubmit. Next Up

Will I ever get that full novel written and the completed one rewritten? Stay tuned. 🙂

How does my work differ from others in my genre?

That’s an interesting and difficult question to answer. I write historical romance mostly set in the last half of the 19^th century. My heroines tend to be a little more spunky than gentile. One has a unique Civil War background. At the time in which the story is set, she runs a Texas sheep ranch and hires females who have their own secret pasts. Another defies her father’s choice of a husband and travels over six hundred miles to run both a small-town café and other people’s lives. I’m sure there’s something psychological that leads me to write about strong, yet ordinary, women who find the courage to do things many of their contemporaries wouldn’t do. Maybe I live vicariously through my characters?

Why do I write what I do?

I love history—not the dry dates and events—but the lifestyles of people from past eras. I’m the one who reads every plaque in a museum and stares at each face in an old photo as if trying to see into that person’s mind. I get a tingle when I touch something that was made over a hundred years ago.

I write Christian fiction for several reasons. For one thing, I’m an introverted believer. I’m not the type to go on mission trips or knock on people’s doors. Even though I know my work will be read mostly by other Christians, that’s okay. We all need encouragement or a little spiritual insight at times and what better way than through a fictional experience? Hmm … Someone Else did that.

How does your writing process work?

Haphazardly at times, like a tortoise at others, and it hums like a Porsche on rare occasions. 

I’m a slow writer who edits as I go, so it takes me most of the day to get my word count goal of between 1,000 and 2,000 words—pretty much 4-5 hours. 

I’ve tried the plotting route—not writing a word until every scene idea is written in triplicate and stamped “Approved” in red ink. It doesn’t work for me. However, I don’t really like sitting down in front of the laptop and banging out whatever comes to mind first. I’m a combination of the two. It’s like taking a trip. I want to know where my people are going (goal), why they’re going (motivation), and some of the roadblocks along the way (conflict). I also need to know the major necessary stops (plot points). After that, I don’t mind taking a few side trips to discover new and interesting places.

So, now that you know a little about my writing, tell me something about yours.

I hope you’ll visit the blogs below. These writers will share their answers to the above questions in a week or two. Please check them out.

Dora Hiers – Dora is the author of several novels and novellas published by White Rose Publishing. You’ll find book reviews on her blog, as well as encouraging insights into her faith. Besides being my “coffee” buddy, she’s a fellow hostess on the Seriously Write blog.

Zoe McCarthy – On the blog Creative in Everything, Zoe posts articles to help other writers bring out the best in their work, along with tips for being … well, creative in every endeavor. She has a novel coming out soon, and like me, she’s represented by Hartline Literary Agency.

Laura McClellan – Laura’s website tagline is “Writing Where Life and Grace Collide.” On her blog “I Was Just Thinking…”, she writes about things of interest to women. She’s a lawyer, a writer, and (my favorite) a horse woman.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This blog reached 100 followers this week! I appreciate each and every one of you!