Welcome to Blog Tour 2014! Here's how it works: One author writes a blog post asking a few of his or her friends to join in, and then you go down the rabbit hole, figuratively, with some of the most fascinating authors in the business.
My pal R.P. Steeves nodded my way earlier this week, and I am now carving a few minutes out of my precious vacation to talk. Rich (R.P) talked about his fantastic Misty Johnson character in his piece. So thanks, Rich... you're in trouble. :)
1. What am I working on now?
At this exact moment? This blog post. I'm currently on vacation... but as you all know, an author can never truly turn off his or her mind. The mind of an author is an exciting one, and we're always conjuring up settings and worlds and characters and story lines that make readers want to turn pages. The plotbunnies, aye, they be a-mulitplying.
I am always working on something: I'll be diving into edits of INCINERATION quite possibly tonight or tomorrow, depending on if I find anything to read at one of the used bookstores in Provincetown (edited to add, which I did: two Robert B. Parker Spenser novels, DOUBLE DEUCE and SUDDEN MISCHIEF. I love me some Spenser for Hire.). I finished the first draft to TRAVEL AGENT, the sixth Jaclyn Johnson thriller, about eleven days ago. And I have the potential start to a new Alex Bourque mystery novella in my mind, which should take me a couple of weeks to write. I haven't written an Alex Bourque in a while. It would be great to dive back into his world.
2. How does my work differ from others in the genre?
A good question to which I may not have the answer. I'm a detail-oriented author, which means I love to give the reader a solid feel of where the story takes place--and I do this in several different genres. Detail is everything to me; it is second to plot, character, and substance. There are some books that leave out the detail, and that hurts my eyes. I want to be pulled into the book with the visual details. A good majority of the comments in favor of my books are the details. Then again, there are some readers who don't like the details. Caveat emptor.
Or is that fourth? I don't know. I love keeping readers on the edge of their seat, turning pages so they can see what Jaclyn or Alex or Connor Wood or (fill in the blank here) does next.
3. Why do I write what I do?
Because daddy needs to keep the food on the table? No, but seriously....
Thrillers are a rather popular genre, and I had abandoned the fantasy genre mainly because I didn't have the money to hire an artist to give me a colorful-yet-bloody cover, much in the same vein as the R.A. Salvatore novels. I started out as a fantasy author, because at the time, I loved writing about fantastical worlds. I still love reading fantasy; I always will.
I've also dabbled in mystery, historical romance (now under my pen name, D.L. Boyd; there will be more coming from "her" in the future), and sci-fi. I just love to write what moves me! After the aforementioned novella is done, I have a horror-thriller in mind that'll knock everyone's socks off--if I do the legend justice.
4. How does my writing process work?
The process. It's a great mystery to many as to how an author works. Some think that authors simply have a bottle of Jack Daniels or something even stronger next to them.
My process is simple: I cut open a vein and bleed onto the keyboard.
I'm a detail-oriented, plot-driven author. I know the outcome of the story even before I start writing it. I look at maps of real places--if my book happens to be set in a real place--and I delve deep into the setting; the characters have to go somewhere, and my readers connect best with real places. I want to see the rolling hills, the gentle curve of asphalt, the towering hills on other side of the road, and I have to make sure that the description is just right: if it's a real place, readers can see that and if they tell you that they saw it perfectly in your description, then you've done your job.
My process involves keeping readers on the edge of their seats, as I've said. And that means bringing in the very best in my literary arsenal onto the pages. I want the readers to feel the sweat, to hear the sounds. I want them to use their senses--and truthfully, I want them to go into sensory overload by the time they've finished reading my books.
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And now it's my turn to spread the love, so to say. I've tagged the following authors.
Let's see: Terry Simpson, Nickie Storey, and up-and-coming author Ted Flanagan. That should do it. :)
Now Rich, can I enjoy the rest of my vacation?
www.seansweeneyauthor.com
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